


Star Destroyers: Starstruck - An Introvert's Perspective into Loving The Universe

by DepressedCarrot



Series: Star Destroyers [6]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Anxiety, Depression, Emotional Roller Coaster, F/M, Long-Term Relationship(s), Love, Mentions of Sex, Recreational Drug Use, Vomiting, book tour, midwest emo, travelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:35:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 207,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27805456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressedCarrot/pseuds/DepressedCarrot
Summary: Connie had spent the past few years touring with the midwest emo band, Star Destroyers.With her new book published for the world to see, it's time for her to discover the wonders of touring around the states.Touring had always looked so easy...when you weren't the one in the spotlight...
Relationships: Buck Dewey & Jenny Pizza & Sour Cream, Connie Maheswaran & Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Greg Universe & Steven Universe
Series: Star Destroyers [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1933939
Comments: 81
Kudos: 72





	1. Paper. Pencil. Copyright.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, everyone, for joining me on yet another tour - this one is a little different...but I have a lot planned for it! It's going to be awesome!

Steven Universe had always been the one in the spotlight, so before his girlfriend published a book - a book tour wasn’t something he could have ever imagined himself going on. 

It had been nearly two years since Star Destroyers had come back from their tour to the United Kingdom. Throughout that time there had been a lot that had happened in the world of Steven Universe and Connie Maheswaran. From moving in together to going on a couple of shorter tours across the states, they always seemed to have been on the move. 

Despite everything that they had been through together - they were happy. 

Steven sat at the end of the double bed and stared down at the beautiful ring inside of the small black box he had been carrying around with him for far longer than he would have wanted to admit. He pressed his finger against it and sighed. It was difficult finding the right moment to propose to the love of his life. 

His ears spiked at the sound of someone walking down the hallway of their small home, slamming the small box shut and tucking it into his jacket pocket. Thankfully, it wasn’t big enough to raise suspicion. He placed his hands on his knees and glanced towards the open door, noticing Connie walk into the bathroom opposite. 

“We’re still picking up Max, right?”

“Yeah! Of course we are!” Steven answered as he stood up by the end of the bed and straightened out the blue suit jacket that he had purchased specifically for the event. Well, Connie had certainly helped him out when it came to picking his outfit. 

“Have you texted her?” Connie spoke from the bathroom. 

“N-no.” Steven gently pulled out his phone as he stepped out of the bedroom and leant against the doorframe of the bathroom. 

“Are you able to ask if she’s got the table cover? I don’t think the venue is providing one.” Connie spoke in a stressed tone as Steven watched from the doorway as she stood in front of the mirror repeatedly attempting to readjust a pair of earrings. 

“Sure, I can do that.” Steven smiled, hoping that she would have been able to see him in the reflection. 

He was quick to text Max the question, wanting to know if they had to quickly swing by a store or not. 

As much as Connie was enjoying having her book published, it was an incredibly stressful experience. She had spent the past year working on a novel that had finally made its way to the public eye. Tonight was the release party, which would have quickly been followed by a book tour around the states. 

Originally, Connie wasn’t sure what she wanted to do when she had left college. After the writing classes that she had taken in college - she found something that she could have done to use one of the many skills that she had been taught. 

It had taken her a while to conclude that it was something that she wanted to do. Originally feeling a lot of guilt for what it was that she was writing. Writing a book wasn’t on her agenda when she left for college, but it was something that came to her over a few months of pondering on what she wanted to do. 

Within months she had a whole book of some of her most intense experiences compiled into a hundred-thousand-word novel. The experiences of what it was like to have been Connie Maheswaran. 

Connie couldn’t help but feel as if her entire life was incredibly boring and yet it felt as if people were genuinely interested to know what it was that she had done the past couple of years. A normal boring college girl...falling in love with the son of Rose Quartz. A story that sounded like it was taking advantage of Steven and his situation, but was focused entirely around what the experience was like for Connie. An introvert with incredibly specific beliefs that she had been raised around. 

“Do you think they look stupid?” Connie turned around in front of the mirror towards Steven with a small pout, incredibly stressed out about what was going to happen in the next couple of hours. 

She had never been to a book release party before. Surrounded by family and friends. Her family mostly being Steven and her friends mostly being Max and the rest of the band. 

“What? No! They look amazing!” Steven was shocked at her question as she pointed towards the earrings she had spent a little too long messing around with. Connie knew that no matter what, Steven would have always been there to support her in whatever she did. It was nice to know there was always someone looking out for her. 

“I don’t know…” Connie sighed as she looked back into the mirror, noticing Steven getting somewhat closer in the reflection. 

It only took seconds before he was resting his chin on her shoulder, hugging her from behind before kissing her softly on her cheek. She managed a slight smile at his touch, feeling loved in his presence. He certainly helped ease her anxiety. 

“You look beautiful and you’re going to do great!” Steven encouraged, smiling at her in the reflection as he held her. Connie lifted her hand to stroke the side of Steven’s face before leaning closer towards him. 

“Thank you, Steven…” Connie sighed softly with a smile. He had said the same phrase what could have been a million times by now and yet it never lost its meaning. 

“I’m so proud of you and your book!” Steven grinned, wanting to make sure that Connie knew exactly how he felt about it. Sure, he had read the book through when she had been going through drafts and it sure did tell their love story. 

At first, Steven wasn’t sure how to feel about the book. Connie had originally planned for it to have been an elaborate documentation of her time with Steven whilst on the tours, however, that expanded into something way beyond what she had expected. 

Admittedly, Connie had made the book somewhat fictional in places. A lot of it needed that kind of treatment to either spice up the drama in the stories or to protect the people around them. The story was pretty intense, regardless of the small things she changed. 

Mostly things that her editor and publisher had urged her to change during last-minute revisions that nobody but herself and them had seen. 

“Nobody’s read it yet!” Connie giggled as she reached into the cupboard above the sink for her perfume. 

“And when they do it’s going to be great!” Steven planted yet another kiss on her cheek before removing himself away from the hug and standing proudly beside her as she sprayed the perfume. 

It filled the air with the sweetest smell. A smell that Steven instantly recognised. He had been the one to get her the fragrance after spending a whole afternoon inside of a drugstore testing out the different perfumes. He had to make sure it was perfect. 

Steven noticed his phone vibrating, pulling it out of his pocket and noticing that he had received a text from Max. 

_ Who do you think I am? Hell yeah, I have the table covering! Now get yourselves down here ASAP so I don’t drown myself in alcohol. I’m supposed to be a professional now. HURRY! _

Steven shook his head at the text, no matter what Max sent him it would have always have been in a similar format. Most of their conversations were sending ridiculous videos to one another that Connie simply didn’t have the time for. Sure, she loved a funny video now and then, but the extent to which Max and Steven exchanged memes was beyond her. She was unsure how they both had time for it. 

“Max has got the covering, so it looks like we’re good to go!” Steven grinned as he looked back up into the mirror to see Connie. 

She was standing there in a suit jacket and silky shirt that made her look incredibly professional for the occasion. As always, Steven thought that she looked beautiful. 

He couldn’t help but see the somewhat nervous expression on her face. Steven knew that she had been anxious about the book for a while, but he wasn’t quite sure why. It would have gone great! People were going to love it! 

As much as she had been trying to get her book off the ground for months, it was finally time for it to have been released and for them to celebrate. It would have been nice to have finally allowed the public to see what she had been working on for months. 

It was only a few weeks ago that Steven was on a small tour of the East coast with Star Destroyers. They certainly hadn't toured as much as they could and it was only in the latter half of the year that they had covered ground. With Steven spending the first half of the year continuing to settle into his new home life with Connie, he had a lot of things to figure out before he went away touring. 

Doing even just the most mundane things with Connie had been the highlight of his year. Everything from brushing his teeth beside her in the morning to going grocery shopping. They had also spent a lot of time decorating the house to make it a home. 

With copious amounts of paint fights as they splashed colour onto the walls, it was no mistake that the young couple was madly in love with one another. Even the tough times that they had faced in the past couldn’t get between them. 

“The poster is in the car - right?”

“Yeah...the poster is in the car.” Steven smiled, placing his hands in the pockets of his suit pants and rocking on his heels in the doorway. 

“Did you remember the post-it notes? If someone asks for a book to be signed I need to make sure I can spell their name.” 

“Yeah! I got pink ones!”

“Water bottles! You've filled them up?”

Steven nodded. 

“Uh…” Connie pressed her lips into a thin line as she attempted to think of anything else that they may have forgotten. “Hand sanitiser!” 

“Max has loads of it! Always! It's like she's on the lookout for a global pandemic...” Steven stepped forward and placed his hands on Connie’s shoulders. She looked towards him with wide eyes.

Steven was always so used to being the one in front of a bunch of people and yet now it was Connie’s turn. It was her time to shine and show off the fantastic book that she had written. It didn’t help that she was incredibly nervous about the event, despite thinking about it every day since she had agreed to do it. That was probably why. 

She had barely slept the night before. Steven noticed her twisting and turning in the bed all night, causing him to lose a bit of sleep over it too. 

“Your dad sorted everything with the venue, right?” Connie furrowed her eyebrows, despite knowing all of the information she was asking, she needed to seek the reassurance. There was no way that she would have been able to cope without it. 

“He did, so you don’t have to worry about it! Relax!” Steven rubbed both of her arms as he tilted his head in that adorable way that he usually did. 

“Oh! I haven’t even called my parents!” Connie gasped, still unsure whether or not her parents would have made an appearance. 

Things had been tough between her and her parents after their fight when she was abroad. Although, over the past year or so they had slowly started to get better with the idea of Steven and Conne’s future pursuits. They would never have been happy with her choices, but at least they were making somewhat of an effort to try to understand them. 

Connie didn’t see her parents very often anymore, but she believed that the distance was better for them in the long run. They had visited her home with Steven a couple of times now, every time had been an incredibly awkward experience. However, despite being awkward it allowed them to see how Connie had most of her life together without their guidance. That both made them angry and proud of how far she had come. 

For the most part, Steven certainly didn’t look or act like the drug-taking rockstar that they had envisioned. No matter how many times he saw them, he was always on his best behaviour. He knew not to open his mouth unless spoken to. It was the easiest way for him to have responded without saying something that may have put a wedge between Connie and her parents. That was the last thing that he wanted. 

“It’s okay! I’m sure if they are coming they’ll be on their way now.” Steven tried his hardest to reassure her nerves. 

“Y-yeah. You’re right.” Connie gently touched her forehead, it was in that moment she would have pushed her glasses up her nose, but quickly realised she was wearing her contacts. “I’m sorry, I’m worrying a lot!” 

“Hmm, just a little bit.” Steven pinched his fingers together with a small wink. 

“You say that like you wouldn’t be doing the same.” Connie scoffed. 

“Yeah, I would be doing the same - which is why I know what it looks like.” Steven smirked as he continued to stroke either side of her arms. 

Connie enjoyed his comfort as she smiled shyly. She truly had been thinking about everything a little too much to not have admitted how nervous she was. Publishing her story to the world was terrifying and she was scared to see how the book sold and what people thought. As far as she was originally concerned - her life was incredibly boring. However, it seemed as if everyone wanted to know what was happening in it. The idea perplexed her. 

"Okay. I need to take a deep breath and-"

"Go and sell your book!" Steven grinned. 

"Yeah! I'm going to sell  _ so  _ many books!" Connie chuckled, trying her hardest to get into a positive mindset where she would have been at her best. 

"Yeah!" Steven clenched both of his fists together before shaking them, happy to see that Connie was finally in a confident mood. She certainly deserved to be. 

Steven moved towards her and kissed her on the lips, lingering for a lot longer than she had expected him to - surprisingly going in for yet another kiss. Connie mumbled on his lips, gently pushing his chest to keep him from continuing. As much as she wanted to stand in the bathroom and make out with her boyfriend - she had a book release party to get to! 

"Mhmph-Steven! We've got to go!" Connie instructed as she unlatched their lips. Steven gently released himself before kissing her once more as quickly as possible so that he wouldn't get told off. She pushed him in the chest once more.

"Okay, okay! Let's go and get Max." Steven smiled, adjusting his suit jacket. 

It wasn't long before they had piled into Steven's car, Connie still as nervous as ever. After only a short period of time living together, Greg had offered them a vehicle for them to be able to commute in that wasn't the van. The Dondai Supremo. According to Greg, it was the most reliable car in history and one that he had wanted when he was younger. Steven loved driving the car in comparison to the van, the experience was a lot nicer! Although, this also meant that Connie was usually the one to drive it. 

Steven pulled up outside of his old apartment where Max had taken residence. It was the perfect size for her and complimented her desire to be alone. It wasn't as if she could ever have anyone living there with her, it was far too small! The only people she ever allowed in the apartment were the band and Connie. Then again, if any of them were going to hang out together, now that Steven and Connie had their own house they usually all went there. 

"Well, if it isn't my second favourite couple!" Max practically threw herself into the back seat of the car. 

"Who's your first favourite couple?" Steven questioned as he adjusted the rearview mirror. 

"Oh! The two dudes who are six foot apart in the pool on that internet video." Max nodded her head with confidence. 

"Of course." Connie sighed with a small smile, Max's ridiculous comments suddenly allowing her nerves to subside. 

Max clicked on her seatbelt before leaning as forward as she could to tap her best friend's shoulders. Max followed her actions with a giggle, noticing Connie's deadpan expression in the mirror. 

"Dude! You have a book! Isn't that cool?" Max encouraged as she tapped her Connie's shoulders over the seat once more. 

"It's a  _ little  _ cool." Connie shrugged. 

"Nuh-uh - it's big cool!" Max shook her head before slumping herself back into the seat as the car pulled away. "Well, you might not think it's cool - but the fifty-ish people who are coming to the release party do." Max mumbled as she folded her arms. 

Connie immediately gripped onto the seat and twisted herself to look into the back at Max. 

"Did you just say  _ fifty _ ?" Connie's eyes widened. 

"I absolutely said fifty." Max nodded, trying her hardest not to smile widely. 

Connie hadn't expected the event to have been so...big. There was no way that she was going to be able to speak in front of all of those people. She had done a small amount of public speaking throughout her time in school and college, but it was a little bit different when she wasn't standing up in front of a class. These were people who wanted to get to know her as a person through some sort of autobiography that she had written. It felt a lot more personal than a speech that she would have done on climate change. 

"That's a lot of people…" 

"Don't sweat it, Con. There's a bunch of people there that you know!"

"It feels like that makes it worse." Connie glanced out of the window at the passing vehicles. She suddenly wished that she was on tour with Steven - at least then it wouldn't have been her in the spotlight. 

Greg had gotten her in contact with a pretty fancy book publisher that was willing to give her a decent deal on the book. Greg had suggested that a book tour would have to be the best thing for promotion and considering Connie had gotten pretty used to touring the states when with Steven, touring with a book couldn't have been so bad! 

All she had to do was visit different bookstores and participate in different press events. Greg had insisted it would be an easy ride and with his trusty promoter, Max Kayori - Greg Universe had decided to take the tour into his own hands and away from the publisher. If anyone was going to get Connie Maheshwaran across the country, it would have to be Greg Universe. 

"You're going to be so good, Connie! I can't wait for you to share your story with everyone." Steven smiled over at Connie, keeping his hands pressed firmly on the steering wheel as they made their way to the venue. 

"Kind of disappointed that you missed out all the times that you boned. Could have been juicy!" Max winked as she gently slapped Steven's shoulder through the middle of the car seats. Steven chuckled nervously with a slight blush. 

"Well, it's not." Connie scowled. Her parents were most certainly going to have read the book. Some of the other things she could stomach, but the idea of her parents knowing she wasn't as innocent as first perceived would have lived with her forever. 

As far as the book was concerned - her and Steven held hands and kissed a lot. Nothing else. Ever. 

"Can I write fanfiction for it when it's out?" 

"How? It's an autobiographical novel!" Connie turned in her seat, both stressed out and frustrated with Max. 

"Where there's a will, there's a way. Look, if kinky vampire fanfiction can make some lady big bucks then by all means - I'm going to try it." Max slumped back down in the seat before folding over her arms and staring out of the window. 

"That’s a thing?” Steven glanced up into the rearview mirror and squinted at Max in the backseat. 

“Don’t worry about it.” Connie furrowed her eyebrows as she gently touched Steven’s shoulder. She didn’t want him to get into a debate about sexy vampires. 

The venue that they had picked to host the book release party was one that was inside of Nashville so that everyone could get there easily. It seemed to have been some kind of community centre that they had chosen rather than a book store. If Connie was going to have been going on a book tour then she would have seen plenty of stores on her travels. 

Max had been the one to put everything together. Greg had given her the creative liberties to do whatever she needed to do within a budget. Greg had to admit that Max had been incredibly good in her role and allowing her to do this for Connie was in essence, a treat for her to indulge in. Helping out your friends in a professional setting wasn't always the best thing to do, but Max was willing to put the work in for Connie as she was anyone else. Greg had made sure to clear her schedule. 

He was just a nice guy like that. Perhaps even too kind of a businessman as he kick-started his career into making his record label. It was something that he had wanted to do for a long time, but not something he believed he could. Finally, this year- he was going to bite the bullet and start it up. He already had a studio, contacts and bands that he would have signed. 

When all of them piled out of the Dondai and made their way into the community centre they were immediately greeted by the rest of the band which had brought them all together in the first place. There was no way that they were going to miss something to do with Connie. They had agreed to have always supported one another no matter what and with Connie being a part-time member of their band through her connections with Steven and Max, they were always going to make sure that they were supporting her. 

"Well, if it isn't my favourite Max!" 

"Jen Jen!" Max threw her hands in the air as she came across one of the members of her favourite band, who had quickly become some of her best friends. Well, they were all her best friends now. 

“Yo!” Sour Cream held his hand out in the air for Max to high-five whenever she was ready to do so. It didn’t take long for Max to grab the hint and place her hand against his. 

“Yo! Sour Cream!” Max made sure to high five him as hard as possible so that his palm would sting after the connection. “And my favourite madman, Buck Dewey!” Max nodded towards Buck who stood off to the side of them all with his guitar around his neck. 

“Sup.” Buck nodded. 

Max, Connie and Steven all stood beside the band - the event was yet to start, but it was getting close. Connie pressed her thumbs together as she glanced around the venue, a few people were getting ready to set up for the hours that Connie would have been spending trying to promote a book about herself. 

Since she had started writing it she had always felt as if it was slightly wrong for her to have been writing it. Although, the story that she had told was one that it seemed as if other people wanted to hear. It wasn’t something that she had ever expected to happen when the only instance she had ever thought of the idea before writing it was when Max had offhandedly made a comment about it on their flight home from the UK. 

Inside of the community centre was a stage, one that she had half expected for the band to have stood on as they played some background music for the event. However, it looked as if their place was a lot further from the stage than she had expected. 

The stage was for her. 

Pretty posters and banners were celebrating her achievement and advertising the book that she had spent the last year working on. From all of the fuss that had been made over the book, it was all starting to feel worth it. Well, it would have felt worth it once people had started to read it.

However, the anxiety that filled her when she thought about the idea of people reading her book was a little too much. A part of her was scared that people would have found it uninteresting. Why would anyone want to know what Connie Maheswaran was up to? Why would they have wanted to hear about her travels across the states as she fell in love with the frontman of an emo band? 

“I think we should keep that for the house after the tour.” Steven looped his hand around Connie’s waist and rested it on her hip, pointing over towards the giant poster with her face on it that was upon the stage. 

“No! We’re throwing it out!” Connie shook her head with a laugh, gently pushing him in the chest. 

“I could never! How do you expect me to throw that in the garbage? At least let me keep it in the attic?” Steven tilted his head in the cute way that he always did when he wanted his way. Connie wasn’t going to give into him this time. She wasn’t going to have a giant poster of her face inside of their house if she didn’t have to. 

Before Connie could even get a chance to respond and tell him that she wasn’t going to allow it inside of their home, there was a voice that suddenly sounded behind them. 

“You’re both here!” The friendly voice caused them both to turn around. 

“Dad!” Steven spoke with pep to his tone, always excited to be in the same room as his father. 

“Oh hello, Mister Universe! T-thank you for setting all of this up for me. It’s...amazing!” Connie was unsure how she could have properly thanked the man who had allowed her passion project to hit the ground running. 

“Connie! It’s fine, there’s no need to thank me. Besides, your best bud Max did most of the hard work. You should be thanking her!” Greg placed his hands on his hips and smiled towards both his son and his son’s girlfriend. The girlfriend who had made his son a completely different person. Mostly just in the sense of being a lot more...happier. 

Connie glanced over to Max who was already in a pretty intense conversation with Jenny, Sour Cream and Buck. She could tell just how intense it was from the way that she was practically waving her arms around as she retold some kind of story with incredibly loud sound effects. Mostly the sounds of... explosions? 

“Yeah! I’m so glad that she’s enjoying working for you. It’s all she ever talks about!” Connie chuckled, more than happy for Max and her position with Greg. 

“Admittedly, she tends to be the one working me into an early grave. She had great ideas every single day that I find it hard to catch up with them. I have backlogs of emails with mass amounts of marketing techniques. I don’t even think she’s ever marketed anything before, but every single time she manages to impress me!” Greg was a little mind-blown with the skills that Max had shown him throughout the past year or so.

“Max can be like that…” Connie grinned, incredibly proud of her best friend for the position that she had taken whilst working for Greg. Sure, it certainly wasn’t the same as her attending law school - but it was something that had made her happy. Connie had never seen Max so happy than when she video called Connie about something crazy that had happened to her whilst at work. 

Connie would have sat and listened all day if she didn’t have to spend a short amount of time helping out at the library when she wasn’t working on writing a novel. She had poured a lot of time into it that it was hard to get anything else done. Although, seeing everyone inside of the building and the posters on the stage - it was slowly starting to make everything worth it. 

“So, let’s talk about you, Connie. How are you feeling? Are you excited?” Greg questioned, potentially more excited than Connie was about the release of the book. He had never helped promote a book before, but he would have done anything for Connie. Greg had grown to love her nearly as much as Steven. 

“I’m a little nervous.” Connie admitted. She had always found it a lot easier to speak to Greg than she ever had to speak to her parents. Often, when she had questions that she needed to ask a parental figure she would always have preferred to have asked Greg for advice first. She trusted his judgement and was always more comfortable speaking to him over her parents. Especially after everything that had happened between them. 

Steven looked over at his dad for reassurance. Steven had already attempted to give Connie a vote of confidence multiple times, but it didn’t seem to have been working the way that he wanted it to. Although, with Greg there, Steven hoped that he would have been able to sway Connie’s mindset. 

“It’s going to be stupid for me to say it, but - don’t be nervous! You’re surrounded by all of your family and friends. Even if there does end up being some scary looking people in the crowd, they would probably be just as scared if they were in your position!” Greg laughed as he tried his hardest to make sure that Connie was comfortable in what she was doing.

“Playing music in front of people used to be pretty scary.” Steven announced as he tried to relate to the situation. 

“That’s different. You’re really good at that!” Connie chewed on her bottom lip. She was completely unsure as to why she was feeling the way that she did about having to stand up in front of everyone and speak about the thing that she had spent so much time on. 

She should have been proud to have been speaking about it. After keeping a lot of her writing process under wraps, it would have been nice to have finally shared it with everyone in her life and beyond. Sharing it with the public would have been incredibly eye-opening for her.

“You’re really good at writing books and speaking to people. You’re so good at  _ words _ !” Steven practically argued his point. He didn’t want Connie to think that it was something that she couldn’t have easily handled. 

This was nothing in comparison to everything that she had done in the past, despite her thinking otherwise. Connie was usually a pretty confident person outside and speaking passionately about the things that she cared about was one of her many fantastic attributes. 

“Yeah...I guess you’re right.” Connie blushed as she stared down at her shoes, embarrassed to admit that she could be incredibly good with her words. She used to always win when in debate classes. 

“He’s right, Connie! You’re going to blow everyone out of the water with this one. Everyone is going to love it!” Greg smiled as he gently placed his hand on Connie’s shoulder. Just like Steven, Greg was incredibly physical when it came to emotional connections. 

Connie was always grateful for him. 

It wasn’t long until people started to enter the venue, Steven had disappeared with the rest of the band to play instruments at the side of the room. They had been told that they were allowed to play at the event, but they had to make sure that there wasn’t any singing and if they were going to be playing any emo songs that they would have to be slowed down instrumentals. 

Greg described it by telling them ‘give me smooth jazz, without giving me jazz at all’ and they all immediately got the memo of what he was looking for. 

There was even a piano within the community centre that Steven knew he was going to have to play at some point throughout the evening. He wasn’t going to let it go. It had been a while since he had played and he was more than ready to crack his fingers and play some beautifully melodic tunes. 

"It's real cool that Connie made a book. Even cooler to know that we got shout-outs in your love story." Buck commented as he adjusted the guitar around his neck, ready to play the slow songs that had been requested. 

"I'm just glad she never mentioned Portland." Sour Cream shuddered, still caught up on the memories from years ago. 

"Maybe you should write a book about Portland since you always seem to be so caught up - just don't include me in it." Jenny added, making sure to be a part of the conversation as she looked up from the amp that she was messing around with. 

"Or the goats." Buck adjusted his sunglasses. 

"Guys! Come on, this is about Connie! We need to make sure that we're all supporting her as she did with us all those times. This is really important to her." Steven expressed as he tried to get them to focus on the thing that was most important at that moment. Connie. 

The band looked around at one another. They needed to be just as supportive of Connie as she was to them every single time that they had gone on tour. They were willing to do that. They loved Connie's company just as much as anyone else. 

"I forced my sister to pre-order the book. Well...she already kind of did it before I asked. Twin-minds!" Jenny tapped her temple with a smile, wanting to show off her support. 

"I've recommended it to my book club." Buck mentioned. 

"Bookclub? Since when do you go to a book club?" Steven squinted at Buck in confusion. 

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Steven." 

"Anyway…" Steven clapped his hands together. 

"I ordered ten of them." Sour Cream smirked, proud of his achievement. 

"Ten?" Steven glanced over at Sour Cream. 

"I was supposed to delete the zero and put a one, but I just added the one." Sour Cream stared down at his shoes before awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Uhhhh...if you know anyone who wants to buy a copy - hit me up. Online shopping is a mystic wonder." 

"Thank you all for being supportive, I'm sure Connie will appreciate it! Now we just have to keep playing until the start of the event. Smooth...emo?" Steven spoke in a happy tone, proud that all of his bandmates were willing to pull together to support Connie. 

Connie stacked up a pile of her books by the table that she had set up that would have been for meeting anyone who may not have been part of her family or a friend. It would have been fun to see people who she didn’t know that were interested in her as a person. It had never really been like that for her before with anyone...other than when she had met Steven.

It was within minutes that she would have to stand by the door handing out drinks and greeting all of the people who were going to be listening to her speak in front of a crowd in thirty minutes for way longer than what she should have. She didn’t want to be the one to stand up in front of everyone and speak about the book that she had spent so long working on. That was her life now. 

Connie silently walked over to the door with a small smile on her face, despite being somewhat nervous about being in front of everyone - this was what she had been waiting for. Greg nodded at Connie from the other side of the room before giving her a subtle thumbs up. 

It wasn’t very subtle. 

She opened up the door to the community centre and stood beside a small table that had leaflets and a few refreshments. Max had gone all out when it came to buying snacks for the event. That was the most important thing - as long as people had good free food then they would have been happy. People would buy into absolutely anything as long as there was free food involved. 

“Welcome, feel free to have some refreshments and take a seat when you're ready.” Connie chuckled nervously as the first person entered the room that she wasn’t unfamiliar with. The number of people coming into the room that were unfamiliar faces was unbelievable, she had no idea what to say to these people. 

They were here for Connie. Nobody else. 

They were there for Connie’s book. To read about her life over the past couple of years. 

There was no way that people were so into the idea of Connie’s life that they would have been there for the release party of her debut novel. Except, they were! 

“Damn, there’s hella people piling in!” Max commented as she stood beside Connie with her arms folded, watching the seats in front of the stage slowly fill up. This was just as bad as when they had to accept their degrees after graduating from college. Except, this time - there was nothing that could draw their attention away from the stage. It wasn’t as if everyone was going to be in the same position. Only Connie. 

“Yeah…” Connie began to think about all of the people that were there and then suddenly...the people that weren’t there. 

Her parents were yet to show up, causing her to feel some kind of disappointment inside of her. There was a deep pit within her stomach that made her feel...empty. She should have expected for them not to have shown up, but she was still disappointed that there wasn’t a glimmer of hope. 

Without a moment’s notice, the next person through the door was finally a familiar face…

“Wait! Dad?” Max nearly stuttered as she saw the familiar man inside of the doorway of the community centre. 

“Maxxie! You’re here!” Richard Kayori opened up both of his arms, Max instantly stepping forward and wrapping her arms around her dad. Max had no shame in the love for her father, she loved him too much to deny him a hug. 

“Of course I’m here! It’s Connie’s big day!” Max practically mumbled into Richard’s shirt. Max always thought that he smelled like gingerbread. No matter the time of year. 

“Connie, the big famous shiny star! I can’t believe that you’ve got a book out in the world. Sounds like a best seller in the works!” Richard grinned as he gently let go of Max to pay attention to Connie. Richard had come a long way to attend the release party. 

Richard Kayori had made the effort. 

Unlike her parents. 

“That’s what Max said…” Connie blushed slightly at the comment, feeling incredibly flattered by his comments. 

“We’ve got the same Kayori brain.” Richard threw his arm around his daughter and pulled her tight once more.

“Thank you, it’s really cool that you’re here!” Connie smiled through her internal pain of her parents not bothering to show up to support her newfound career path. 

She knew that it wasn’t the career path that her parents had expected her to have gone down, but it was wrong of them not to have bothered. Even Max’s dad had come along to support her and the promotional material that she had put together for Connie. Richard was always there to support her career. 

“I couldn’t miss something Max has worked super hard on - she never stops talking about it!” 

“Never!” Max responded as she pointed up at her dad. 

“Every phone call is about her work with Mr Universe. Which, by the way, is insane! I love Greg as much as the next guy, but it still blows my mind. It’s amazing what you’ve both achieved since college - you should be proud!” Richard spoke in an energetic tone. 

Connie couldn’t help but feel as if she was being punched in the stomach. She shouldn’t have been so wrapped up in her head when there was so much going on around her than she needed to contend with. She shouldn’t have been focusing on who wasn’t there, but who was! 

With Richard making the comments about her college she certainly felt bad about what had happened over the past year. Her parents more than likely didn’t care what she was doing - especially considering it was something that had swayed completely away from what she originally intended to do with her life. 

Her parents were probably incredibly disappointed in her. She knew they were and she knew that they weren't going to have made any effort to have read the book. The only time that they would have bothered to do such a thing would be to see whether or not they were mentioned in any way, shape or form. Connie didn’t mention her parents much in her book and when she did, she had never said anything that would have been deemed offensive towards them. 

Although, even if she was singing their praises throughout the entire novel she felt as if they would have disliked her choices of words either way. There was no way that she would have been able to win in that respect. Her parents were never going to be happy with her choices. 

“Thank you, Richard.” Connie smiled up at the kind man. 

“Now, let me get some of these snacks. They’re free - right?” Richard glanced over at the snacks on the table, eyeing them up almost as soon as he came in. He looked back over at Max for some kind of permission for him to tuck into whatever was on the table. 

“Twenty bucks for a Cheez-It. Pay up, Bub.” Max winked as she held out her palm and waited for her payment. Richard was more than used to his daughter’s antics and certainly wasn’t planning on giving in. Max wouldn’t have tricked her father into paying for something for her, but she certainly would have tricked one of her many brothers. 

“Nuh-uh, you’re not pulling that one on me!” Richard shook his head as he stepped towards the food table. If he was going to have travelled across the states then he was going to get free food that his daughter had put out just moments ago. 

Connie focused her attention back on the door. She didn’t want to come off as rude to the Kayori family, but she was going to have to make sure that her full attention was on greeting anyone who came in. Admittedly, she was still waiting for her parents. 

Connie glanced to the other side of the room to see Steven and the rest of the band in the corner playing instruments. It wasn’t like the usual songs that they were playing, they had very much slowed it down to Greg's specification. They could have been a wedding band if they wanted to. 

“You’re going on in ten minutes, do you want to go and prepare yourself?” Greg gently placed his hand on her shoulder and pointed up to the stage. Connie hadn’t even noticed that it was Greg at first, jumping slightly at the touch. 

“Y-yeah, that would be good.” Connie breathed in deeply. It was nice to know that Greg was looking out for her. He always did. 

Connie made her way to the back of the stage and took a sip of water, wanting to compose herself enough to be able to go up onto the stage at the beginning of the event. She was upset that Steven was playing in the band, somewhat wishing that he was beside her to help her settle her nerves. 

Being up on the stage was going to have been a terrifying experience, but she was more than ready to face it. As soon as it was over it was going to be over. Except, she was probably going to have to do similar kinds of things once she had gone on the book tour. Although, she hoped that going up on the stage throughout the release would give her enough confidence to speak about her book in the rest of the country. 

Max was going to be the first person on the stage so that she could introduce the event to everyone. After all, it was Max’s event and she had assumed the title of Connie’s official hype man. It was only necessary. 

It was Max’s job to stand up on the stage and brag about Connie for three minutes so that she didn’t have to speak about herself. Max would have easily done it with a few jokes and her confidence. Connie brushed off her suit jacket as Max tapped her shoulder and nodded, internally preparing herself to go up. 

Connie stood at the side of the stage, the same as she had done time and time again when on tour with the band. She had always just assumed that position as of recent months when they had played shows. It was the best place for her, meaning that Steven could have easily been within smiling distance of her. It was nice to have someone there for support. 

She looked around the corner as Max took her mark on the stage and held onto the microphone, a poster stood up behind her with Connie’s face on it, there was also a small table that had a few of the books on the top. She looked down at the crowd and noticed that everyone was now sitting down and was ready for the event to start. Even the band had stopped playing, taking their seats by the front row. 

“Welcome, everyone! Thank you all for coming to this event where we celebrate the release of Starstruck:An Introvert's Perspective into Loving The Universe! A book by Connie Maheswaran, because apparently everyone else needs to know what it was like to live with her for four years!” Max shook her head as she spoke into the microphone, getting a slight chuckle from the crowd. "Uh... that's funny because we were roomies for that long. You'll read all about it in the book!" 

She swiftly continued, cycling through the notes she was holding before clearing her throat. 

“Connie is one of the most interesting people that I’ve ever met and I think it would be a waste not to read her fantastic story of how she fell in love. Let me tell you, as someone who had to experience this in reality - the level of love that’s in this book is intense! I think what you have to remember going into this book is that it’s about our favourite kind of superhero - a nerd. I know that sounds ridiculous, but we have so many people in this world who hide behind themselves and this book is really about having the confidence to break through barriers to be the person this world needs to see!” Max clenched her fist together as she spoke. “I want every teenage girl to read this book and feel a relation to it because I know that they will. It sounds hilarious coming from a book which at first glance you might just think is about falling in love with some emo boy - but the reality is, it’s so much more! This story is about a girl who struggled through self-confidence and decided that she needed to have some fun, admittedly, I think I helped play a part in that vital role. Y’know what? I’m glad that I did. Connie is worth every second of my time and she’s worth yours too! So, read the book, consume it in the bath or as an audiobook whilst you drive...whatever floats your goat. All I know is that you’re going to love it as Connie has put so much heart and soul into this that you wouldn’t even believe! So, now, before I end up entertaining you all night I’m going to pass you onto the superwoman herself - Connie Maheswaran!” Max stepped back from the microphone before pointing to the side of the stage to encourage Connie to come out from behind the curtain and switch over their roles of speaking in front of the crowd. 

Max passed Connie as she walked. Connie could have sworn that Max had whispered something to her in regards to some kind of good luck, but she couldn’t have been too sure. It all went far too quickly. 

Max had been so confident on the stage and yet as Connie made her way up to the microphone with her book in her hand, she looked over at all of the people who had decided to show up to the event. There were plenty of people around that she had never seen before, which as an author - was a pretty good thing. It only meant that for some reason people who she didn’t know were also interested in what she had to say, or perhaps they were there for the free snacks - either way, she was glad that they had come. 

Connie looked down at the front row which consisted of her biggest fans. The band. Greg. Richard Kayori and...Steven. He nodded towards her before giving her a quick thumbs up to boost her confidence. He knew exactly what she needed and when. There wasn’t a time in which she didn’t appreciate his efforts to make her smile, she certainly needed it then. 

“W-wow, thank you all for being here today! It’s amazing to have this many people who are willing to come out and support me in this next step of my life. I’m still trying to figure things out...but this is the best I have for now.” Connie comedically shook the book in front of her as the crowd looked up and smiled at her the best they could. 

Connie suddenly thought about all of the public speaking classes that she had been a part of throughout her life. This was the one time other than ranting in a class where she needed to remember all of the skills that she had been taught. It would have been difficult to have focused on them at the time, but it was something that she knew she would have to do within that moment. She certainly didn’t want to crumble on stage. She had to make sure that she was confident in everything that she was saying. 

People loved confidence.

“When I was in my last year of college, I was convinced that I knew what I wanted to do. Then, my best friend, Max convinced me to go on a trip that really turned my life on its head. I always remember her telling me that I should go on the trip so that if I ever had kids they wouldn’t think I was boring.” The crowd laughed. “I think Max was right in a way, up until that point, all my life had really been was school work. Going on the trip made me realise that there is so much more to life than learning. Don’t get me wrong, learning is amazing! Although, it’s nice to have some kind of variety in your life and that’s what going on tour with a midwest emo band gave me. Funny thing is, I didn’t even like the music at first! It took me a good couple of weeks of attending the shows and hearing the same songs every single night to finally get into it. Even now, there’s certainly some songs that they play that I’m completely unsure of.” Connie shook her head with a smile, holding onto the book tightly. As far as she could tell, she was doing well! 

Steven nodded up at her to help fuel her confidence. If anything, she would have happily have focused on the fact that perhaps she was speaking the words to Steven and nobody else, just as they had done for the past couple of weeks in their living room. Steven would have continued to listen passively, over and over if he needed to as a way to make sure that she was confident in her words. 

“I think the most important thing for people to remember about life is that nobody is certain about anything. People can say that they are, but there’s so much that can change without a moment’s notice that it’s practically impossible to predict accurately. I was always so sure that my life was going to go in one particular direction when reality swayed me the other way. I think sometimes that the best way to handle that kind of situation is to just...allow it to happen. Embrace the facts and what comes with them when you’re in that situation. When I graduated from college, I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself. So, my best friend dragged me across the ocean to see how I could cope with doing the same thing but in a different country! I learned more about myself and my future there than anywhere else. The journey was important to me, so here we are. This is where I ended up, with a book in my hand and a bunch of loving and supporting people sitting right in front of me.” Connie smiled as she looked down at everyone that was in front of her. It was impressive for the number of people to have shown their face - everyone apart from her parents. She tried not to think about it. 

Connie took a step back on the stage and sat down on the seat that she had been instructed to sit on when she wanted to read an extract from the book. It was going to have been a short reading, but just enough for her to hook the audience on what it was that she had written. 

As un-confident as Connie was feeling on the inside, the way that she spoke about her book came across as incredibly professional, passionate and confident. It was exactly how she had expected it to go within the good side of her mind. The side that made her feel a lot more confident than she was. 

Everyone in the room sat and listened contently to the extract from her book as she briefly explained the scene. The short story that she told was from the first time that she had seen Steven, because as much as the story was about her - it was also a story about meeting the love of her life. She knew that people would have been more interested in the aspect of falling in love than they would have any of the boring bits where she had spoken about school. 

Talking about falling in love with Steven was going to have been one of the easiest ways to have made sure that her book practically sold itself. The publisher had already gone over the best bits to mention at readings as a way to attract new readership. Connie knew that a lot of the people in the room that night were probably going to have made the effort to read the book. 

In a way, that terrified her. 

She had opened up a Q&A session for people to ask whatever they wanted at the end of her long speech. A lot of the questions that she received were generic, but she appreciated people taking the time and effort to ask them. Even Richard had taken his time to think of a thought-provoking question that she could have answered up on the stage.

As time went on, Connie became more and more confident with her book and people’s perceptions of it. It was interesting to her to know that people were going to read it. That people were interested in what she had to say - something that she was terrified wouldn’t happen even if she tried. 

She was terrified that the book would flop. Although, even if it was just the people in the room that brought and read her book that night, then she would have been happy enough. It was enough people for her not to feel terrible about spending all of that time writing it. Her worst fear was that it was going to have been a waste of time. 

Eventually, after spending a good amount of time on the stage attempting to promote herself, she was finally free to do whatever she needed to do. Well, being free meant that she would have to go and sit at a table for a while and speak to people about her book, something that she would have to start getting used to if she was going to go on tour with the book. 

“You did really well!” Steven smirked as he stood off to the side of the small table that she was sat at, surrounded by copies of her book. 

“Well, it didn’t go as badly as I first thought. We can settle on that.” Connie half-smiled up at him. She should have been more positive, it wasn’t as if it was terrible. She had done everything that she needed to do and everyone around her was happy with what they had heard. She should have been proud of herself for what she had done. 

“What? You aced it up there - people are going to love this book!” Steven was quick to defend the thing that she had worked so hard on. He wasn’t going to let her talk it down when he had put so much effort into hyping it up to everyone that he knew. 

Connie wanted to be negative about the whole experience - but the reality was that she knew that she had done well in promoting herself up on stage. The plenty of new faces that had previously lined up to purchase one of the books from her was a lot. It was nice to see that amount of people interested in what she wanted to say about her life. The whole concept was still bizarre to her. 

“You played really well with the band!” Connie made sure to change the subject away from her for a moment. 

“Well, we always play pretty well! We’re Star Destroyers!” Steven mentioned proudly. Despite them not going on as many huge tours as they used to, the small tours that they had been on recently had been a lot of fun, even if they didn’t last anywhere near as long. In a way, that was a good thing. 

It gave everyone the freedom to do what they wanted to do outside of touring with the band. They all had their own lives outside of the band and it was nice to get away from reality for a bit to play, but eventually, reality would have caught up on them. They needed to make sure they had a good mixture of both. 

Adulting was hard. 

“I can’t argue with that!” Connie chuckled as she placed the permanent marker down on the table and turned away from Steven. It didn’t seem as if there was anyone else who wanted to buy one of her books with her signature inside of it. 

Nobody even had any more questions to ask about the book. Connie had mentally prepared herself to answer a lot more questions, but it seemed as if everyone had already asked everything that they wanted to when she was up on stage. That was fine. 

Connie watched as Steven’s face dropped, instantly causing her to turn around in her chair to face the door. Before she could even prepare herself for the next signing she was greeted by two incredibly familiar faces. 

“Did we miss it?” Doug Maheswaran questioned with a slight panic in his tone as he looked down at Connie who was sat with a perplexed expression. 

“I knew we shouldn’t have trusted that Toober app.” Priyanka shuffled around in her handbag as she mumbled, a little frustrated that she had gotten to her daughter’s event later than planned. 

“Y-you came!” Connie practically choked on her words as she stood up, pushing the chair behind her back dramatically. Steven’s quick reflexes caused him to catch it before it fell, propping it up gently. 

“Of course we came!” Priyanka snapped, a little sad that her daughter would have thought that they wouldn’t have bothered to have made the effort. 

“Well, we’re a little later than we thought. It looks like we’ve missed it.” Doug gave Connie an expression of guilt, feeling a little sad that they had missed an event that meant so much to their daughter. 

Their relationship over the past couple of years had been incredibly bumpy, but with that being said - it seemed as if they had bothered to make the effort to come to Connie’s event. She had been worried that they would have completely blown her off. 

This wasn’t some kind of educational achievement like graduation, they had no need to be there. It wasn’t as if they had been interested in Connie writing the book throughout the years. The only time they had sparked any interest was when Connie had mentioned the release party. 

Which, they had made some kind of effort to get to - despite it not being one that allowed them to be there on time for the main event. 

“You’ve missed the event. I’m just...signing books now.” Connie shrugged before staring back down at the table. 

“Can we buy one?” Doug immediately asked as he pointed towards the book that was on the table in front of them. 

“I can just give you one…” Connie furrowed her eyebrows. They were her parents, she was willing to give them one for free. There was no need for them to bother with payment. 

“Nonsense. We’re going to buy one.” Priyanka shook her head, once again digging into her handbag to try and find her purse. 

“You really don’t-”

“I can pay by card or cash. What would you prefer?” Priyanka questioned as she finally pulled out her purse and began to dig around for her money. 

Steven glanced awkwardly over at the both of them, feeling a little unsure of how he could have participated in the conversation. He didn’t need to and he didn’t want to butt in. At the very least, it looked as if her parents were supporting her pursuits as an author. At the very least - that was something. 

“Oh, it doesn’t matter too much. I can take either.” Connie wasn’t quite sure what else to say as she looked across the table at both of her parents with an empty expression. She wasn’t sure how she could have handled the situation in which her parents had come in unannounced and suddenly wanted to support her in what she was doing with her life. 

A part of her was a little scared for her parents to have read the book but since all of the events in the book she had been a lot more honest when it came to her parents. She certainly didn’t lie as much. They already knew about Steven and everything that she had done with the band - there wasn’t much else for her to cover. 

She didn’t need to lie anymore. Regardless of what she did, her parent's opinions on her would never change. They had just come to realise that it was just the way that it had to be. Connie would lead her own life and they would lead theirs. It was sad in a way, but it was how things had to be if they had any chance of having some kind of healthy relationship. 

Priyanka pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and passed it over to Connie who was quick to get her change from the small money pot that the band usually used for the merch stand. Connie handed over the change, followed by the book. 

“Aren’t you going to sign it, Kiddo? Would be a shame to not get an autograph from a famous author.” Doug pointed down to the marker pen that was in the middle of the table. 

“You want me to sign it?” Connie scoffed, feeling a little bit embarrassed that her parents would ask for such a thing. 

“Yeah! Why wouldn’t we?” Doug smiled, giving Connie the confidence she needed as her mum passed back the book. 

Connie pulled open the front page and scribbled on it in marker pen. 

_ To Mom and Dad. Lots of love, Connie. X _

Connie gently closed the cover of the book and passed it back over to her mom who gave her a somewhat supportive smile. In a way, the gesture irked her. It was impossible to think of her parents as supportive when for the past couple of years they had been nothing but condescending. 

Although, it had been incredibly healthy for her to have gotten away from her home environment. Being at college had been both a blessing and a curse for their relationship. It certainly was nice to get away, but having to go back to her home state every couple of months between the semesters was frustrating and never ended well. 

Now that she lived with Steven she could go and see them whenever she desired. Whenever she was in the right headspace to do so. That way, things would have been a lot healthier and Connie could have been the one to decide when she wanted to go home. It was the best thing for them all. 

“Are you sticking around for long?” Connie asked her parents as she watched her mom place the book into her bag. She wasn’t quite sure if they would ever read it, but the gesture of purchasing the book felt supportive. That was all that Connie really needed to see.

“We’ve come all this way. It would be a shame to waste it.” Priyanka half-smiled at her daughter. Connie was struggling to figure out what that may have meant for her. 

“You both just got home from a tour, right?” Doug asked, for some reason he was suddenly interested in what it was that Steven was doing. Well, he had always been interested but had never been in the position to question his daughter’s boyfriend’s rockstar lifestyle. 

“Yeah, a few weeks ago! It wasn’t a very long one this time, but we still played a lot of shows.” Steven managed to get in a word as he spoke to her parents. It had always been awkward between them, but after spending some time with them it was clear that they were finally trying to accept the fact that Steven wasn’t going anywhere. 

It wasn’t as if they ever had or ever will approve of someone such as Steven, but their daughter was stubborn and she was going to be staying with Steven for a long time whether they liked that or not. It could have been worse, he could have been a horrible guy. However, it seemed as if Connie had hit the jackpot when it came to Steven, so even if her parents didn’t completely agree with her life choices - at least he was going to treat her right.

Connie was happy with Steven, that was the one thing they should have focused on, but never seemed to clock onto the idea. 

“Did you shred the guitar?” Doug did a quick air guitar impression, trying his hardest to relate to the man on the opposite side of the table. 

“I...did…” Steven smirked, feeling happy that he was finally participating in more than one conversation with the man. They had seen each other a few times throughout the year or so, but that didn’t mean that meeting them again after a couple of months was never awkward to begin with. 

It was always awkward. 

“We’re going to be staying in a hotel nearby for the weekend. I was thinking that perhaps we could go for dinner as a family?” Priyanka made her intentions known. As much as she wanted to be there for Connie’s book, she also wanted to make sure that they spent some time with their daughter. 

They wouldn’t have been starting the book tour for a couple of days, so spending some time with her parents couldn’t have been a bad thing to get her mind off her future travels. Both were nerve-wracking things. 

“You mean Steven too?” Connie pointed over at Steven who stood with his two hands gently threading themselves together, not wanting to interrupt if he wasn’t directly spoken to. He finally knew how the Maheswarans wanted to be treated and messing that up was only going to have caused them grief. 

“Of course.” Priyanka nodded towards Steven. 

“Good.” Connie smiled before glancing over to Steven. 

It would have been nice for them all to have gotten together as a family. Steven had been subjected to a few Maheswaran dinners by this point and none of them seemed to have been any less awkward than the last. For the most part, he tried his hardest to keep quiet. It was the only way that he wouldn’t have been able to incriminate Connie if he accidentally mentioned something that he wasn’t supposed to. 

The rest of Connie’s family and friends stuck to the opposite side of the room, noticing that the Maheswaran parents had entered the venue. Each of them knew the stories that Connie often told about them, even what Steven had mentioned about them in the past. They all felt terrible for not being able to go over to the table and introduce themselves to the people who they wanted to have some kind of acquaintance with. 

For a start, Greg wanted to know them. He had grown pretty close to Richard Kayori, but was yet to meet the parents of his son’s love of his life. He only expected the first time that he would have some kind of conversation with them would be at their wedding, which inevitably would happen one day. 

The release party didn’t drag on for as long as Connie hoped it wouldn’t. With everyone there now, it had made everything a lot more awkward. She had the obligation to spend some time with her parents after the party. Max was most certainly going to be spending time with her dad before going ahead and starting the tour. All Connie wanted to do after the release party was have a bath and then cuddle with Steven whilst watching an awful movie. 

It would have been a crime for anyone to have made her do anything else. 

Thankfully, her parents had agreed to push back the dinner as Connie was incredibly busy packing away at the venue. She was on a time limit to get out of the community centre, so everyone made an effort to tidy up. Even the band packed up their equipment and helped out with the vast amount of chairs that had been laid out. 

Surprisingly, all of the chairs had been filled throughout the event. It made Connie feel incredibly good that she had managed to sell a total of thirty books - which was incredibly impressive considering the audience. It was only the first day that the book had been released and she was yet to check out the online sales that her publisher had been sending her throughout the day. 

It was great to be able to see how many people were buying her book, but also incredibly terrifying to see. The counter could have eventually become addictive for Connie, so she didn’t want to spend her whole time refreshing the page. It wouldn’t have been healthy for her. 

Steven pushed the large poster into the back of the car, knowing that soon they would have to put it inside of a suitcase with the rest of the promotional posters and books as they travelled from state to state. Steven had offered to drive, but some of the drives along the tour were so long that they most certainly wouldn’t have been able to make it in a van. 

Besides, Greg had already offered to pay for it all once again. It wasn’t something that he had to do but always tried to offer. It would have been a lot cheaper than pushing the whole band across the states at the very least, so there was that. He had also never helped promote a book before and thought that it would have been good to have helped out Connie on her pursuit.

“Good release show?” Steven questioned as he climbed into the car to be beside Connie. Max had chosen to get a Toober with her dad back to her apartment instead of accepting the lift with Steven and Connie. She had already gotten into an in-depth conversation about her career with Richard before they had both left. 

“Yeah...it went well.” Connie smiled down at her hands as she rested them on her lap. 

“Are you sure? It doesn’t sound like it…” Steven’s expression changed to one of concern as he reached out and used his spare hand to place on top of hers. He used his other hand to grip onto the steering wheel, despite them still being parked inside of the parking lot outside of the community centre. 

“I didn’t expect my parents to show up.” Connie sighed. 

“Wasn’t that nice?” 

“Yeah, it was nice. It’s just...I had convinced myself that they wouldn’t show up, so when they did it took me by surprise. I know they’re trying to be more supportive, but I didn’t think that they would want anything to do with my book. It’s so different from what they wanted me to do.” 

“Isn’t it nice that they’re showing interest though?” Steven was a little confused, he never quite understood the relationship that she shared with her parents. It had taken him a long time to get his head around it. It was hard to understand when his dad was nothing like them. 

“Well...yeah. It’s nice that they’ve decided to take some kind of interest in the things that I want to do with my life. It’s just, I know it’s not what they want me to do with my life, it just feels like they’re coming to support me because they just feel as if they have to.” Connie sighed once more. It was ridiculous. It was as if she couldn’t win no matter what she tried to do. 

“But that means that you can do whatever you want to do in your life now without your parents hammering down on it. Right? They respect you enough to want to leave you to your own devices to do things, but they’re still supportive about it despite it not being the thing that they want for you…” Steven tried his best to explain why the situation wasn’t as bad as it first sounded. 

“I want them to come and support me because they want to, not because they feel they have to.” Connie groaned, unsure how she could have solved the issue. There wasn’t a way that they could have without her getting into yet another fight with her parents. She knew from experience that it wouldn’t end very well for both parties. 

“Well, even if your parents aren’t there to support you - you have all of us. There were so many people there today!” Steven encouraged, trying to make Connie feel better about the situation. 

Of course, it was lovely that there was a mass amount of people that were willing to show up for Connie and her event - but she knew that her parent’s opinion meant the most. There was no way of getting out of that. 

“Yeah...you’re right. Thanks, Steven.” Connie smiled sweetly towards him, gripping onto the hand that he had placed on top of hers previously. 

“No problem!” Steven grinned back, one of his most important goals in life was to make sure that Connie was happy. His own life wouldn’t have been complete without it. Steven noticed that Connie glanced out of the window across the parking lot, he wanted to do something to make her think a little less about her parents and more about the successful day that she had. “So, you want to go out for dinner? Or...we could get take-out?” Steven smirked as he made the suggestion. 

“Didn’t have enough of the free food Max put out, huh?” Connie laughed. 

“No, I did...I just think that we should get some food to celebrate! You’re a published author!” 

“A published author that would like to curl up on our couch and eat Chinese food.” Connie nodded, making sure that she could relax from the stressful day that they had. The release party had been...a lot. 

“That sounds like a plan!” Steven snorted as he turned the key in the ignition and started the car. 

Connie had finally put her book into the public eye, which meant that soon to come was one of the most interesting tours that they had been on since they had met on the Star Destroyers American tour across the states a few years ago. 

A book tour...


	2. Nashville, TN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Connie attend a fancy lunch with the Maheswarans before Connie goes to her first book signing and faces the realities of her boyfriend being famous. Wasn't that what the book was about? Oh, the irony.

Doing a book signing inside of Steven’s home state would have allowed for the tables to turn. It was interesting for Connie to have been the one to have been going on tour when she had spent the past couple of years following Steven and his band across the states and even overseas on one occasion. 

Steven was starting to realise the humour behind it as they packed their bags to make sure that once they came home from being out with Connie’s parents and attending the signing that they would have been able to get on the flight to Atlanta in the morning for the next stop at yet another bookstore. 

“So, this means that I’m your groupie now - right?” Steven chuckled to himself as he folded over one of the shirts that he was taking with him on the tour. He neatly placed it inside of the suitcase that was balanced on the end of the bed they were both using to rest their luggage on. 

“I was never your  _ groupie _ .” Connie argued in return. 

“Well...we did have sex on the tour.” Steven shrugged, reminding her of the memories that he kept close to him. Sure, they had sex on the tour - but it wasn’t as if they had slept together just because Connie wanted to get with the lead singer of an emo band. 

That was the last thing on her mind when she had eventually fallen in love with him. When she had first met him, she hadn’t even known that he was the man that was about to play on the stage. It had shocked her that the man who had brought Max a drink was the same man that was playing the guitar and screaming into the microphone. Even Max had found the whole scenario amazing. 

“But, it wasn’t because you were in a band.” Connie laughed, wanting to defend her point the best she could. Originally, she had called out Max on the idea of them being groupies, only to argue about them being ‘fans’ instead. 

Connie very much favoured this phrasing after all of the times that she had been called out and called a groupie for the way that she had hooked up with Steven. It was one of the many things that she had outlined in her book as something that had originally bothered her. She was never even a fan of the band!

She assumed that you would have to be a fan of the band to have taken up the position of being a groupie. Steven was a fan of her book though...that could have made him a groupie. 

“It was because my personality was irresistible.” Steven pretended to flick his hair over his shoulder. 

“Yeah...something like that.” Connie snorted as she continued to fold over the clothes and put them into her bag. 

“It’s weird though, following you on tour...” 

“We haven’t got there yet.” 

“I know, but the concept is strange to me. You’re always the one coming to see me play - it’s going to be really cool seeing you signing books and doing interviews!” Steven spoke in an excited tone, he hadn’t stopped speaking about the tour for a while. He was incredibly happy that he was finally going to have been able to return the favour of being the supportive one when following Connie around the country. 

“It’s going to be strange.” Connie sighed, not wanting to admit all of the nerves that were already swimming around inside of her. It was going to be annoying having to go for dinner with her parents on the same day as her first signing in a bookstore. 

That only meant that she would have double the anxiety. 

“But fun! Really fun!” Steven exclaimed, only wanting to be positive about the situation. 

The last time that they had gone on a long tour together, it had mostly resulted in disaster. There were a lot of good things that came from the tour in the UK, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t face a lot of hardships. Overall, they liked to believe that touring there had made them a lot stronger as people.

Steven and Connie could have faced anything together now. 

Which, by default - also meant her parents. 

It wasn’t long before they found themselves inside of a restaurant that her parents had picked out for them. It was a little bit fancier than the shirt that Steven was wearing that he was going to rep at the book signing. Connie wanted her parents to have the dinner after the signing, but they enjoyed making her stressed - so insisted that they did it before.

Steven wanted to be on his best behaviour when it came to being around her parents. For the most part, it meant just shutting up for as long as possible. They must have thought that he was practically mute from the amount of time he had sat in the corner silenced when they came around. 

Steven didn’t mind, as long as they knew he existed and Connie’s relationship with her parents was somewhat repaired then it wouldn’t have mattered too much. 

Connie sat down beside Steven at the dining table, glancing around and looking at the restaurant that was a lot fancier than she thought that they would choose. She was dressed for a book signing, not to eat somewhere that had items on the menu that she couldn’t pronounce. She would have preferred to have eaten the leftover food they had in the fridge from the night before. 

They had already agreed to eat that after the signing. 

“This place is pretty fancy.” Connie commented as she continued to look around the establishment. There were so many great places to eat in Nashville, it made Connie wonder why they had chosen this one. 

“It was the only one we could find that had a great rating and no cowboy theme.” Priyanka sighed as she picked up the menu. 

“She’s talking about mechanical bulls. She refused to give it a go.” Doug nodded over to Priyanka before winking at Connie. Her father was always making some kind of effort to make sure that their relationship stayed on the surface. 

“I have to agree with you there, Mom.” Connie chuckled, trying her hardest to keep in line with the conversation and her parent’s rulings. She just wanted them to have fun, despite ‘fun’ never being a word that she could use to describe her parents.

Steven picked up one of the menus and allowed his eyes to trace over the names that he couldn’t even comprehend in his mind. Were they in a different language? He didn’t think so and yet everything he read was so obscure and complex that he struggled to understand what any of the food was. He wanted to ask Connie for some help but felt a little embarrassed to admit he didn’t know what  _ Foie gras  _ was. He probably didn’t want to know either. 

She wasn’t sure she could have translated the menu in full either. 

“So, you mentioned that you had a signing later today? Is that in Nashville?” Doug asked a question that Connie was sure he already knew the answer to, she knew that he was only trying to be friendly. He wanted to make some kind of conversation. 

“Yeah, it’s in an independent bookstore. They’ve told me that we need to be there to set up at three.” Connie smiled, bigging up her debut as an author. She wanted to make sure that her parents knew that she was happy in the position that she was in. She didn’t need them to butt in and try and make anything different from what she had already managed to do. 

She had built everything from the ground up - without her parent’s assistance. 

“You haven’t got very long.” Priyanka stared down at her watch. 

“Long enough to have lunch!” Connie spoke with a happy tone, not wanting to let her mother’s negativity get to her. Things were going to be fine, it wasn’t even as if the bookstore was very far from where they were having lunch. They could have walked there if they truly wanted to. 

There was so much that the Maheswarans could have discussed over lunch with their daughter. Mostly, it would have been nice if they had taken the time to ask more about Connie’s book - the biggest thing in her life at that moment in time. Connie couldn’t help but feel cheated out of those interactions with her parents. All she wanted to hear from them was a simple ‘well done’. One that felt as if it was coming from a place of sincerity and not one that was forced. 

That seemed as if it was going to have been far too much to ask for. 

The last time they had said anything of the sorts had been at her graduation. They hadn’t even mentioned anything on the subject of Steven and Connie being able to move into their first home together despite being younger than the average - with Greg’s help of course. They had been living together for just over a year and they had only come to visit them a couple of times. 

Sure, it was quite the trip - but Connie was willing to make the effort to go and see them, as awkward as it may have been. She had even gone to see them without Steven once throughout the year...which left her in an awkward position where they had consistently assumed the worst of him. That was simply not the case, he just had a show to play out of state at the same time. She thought that it would have been refreshing to have seen her parents whilst she was alone, although, it never turned out to be that way at all. 

It was an awkward trip that consisted of her sleeping in her old childhood bedroom and being lectured by her parents about different career options in the area. According to them, writing published articles online wasn't good enough!

In a way, Connie hoped that her parents would read the book so that they could see why she fell in love with the man and why he makes her so happy. Although, it didn’t seem as if they would have cared for it. It wasn’t as if they cared about anything that made Connie happy. At least, that was how they consistently made her feel. 

“Have you taken into consideration any formal education yet, Steven? The classes are just about to start for the year. They sometimes accept late sign-ups.” Priyanka questioned, attempting to start a conversation as they finished with the painfully awkward lunch that had mostly been sat in silence. 

Yet another question that only served to embarrass Connie. There was always a constant push to make sure that whoever she was with would take an interest in schoolwork. They only ever wanted their daughter suited with the best and after years of trying to convince her otherwise - Steven still wasn’t completely up to their standard. 

“Uhhh...not really. I’m pretty busy learning about sound engineering and production with my dad. That and...the band.” Steven gently placed his fork back down onto his place to indicate he was finished as he spoke, making sure that the words he used in his sentence were long ones. 

He wasn’t even quite sure what he had eaten for lunch, he had just ordered what Connie was eating and went along with it. He couldn’t deny that it tasted good, but he certainly couldn’t pronounce the name. He was sure he had seen vegetables on his plate he had never seen in his life before. 

“Sound engineering for movies?” Doug asked. 

“No...mostly other bands. I’m still learning. I’m much better setting the equipment up and playing instruments than I am mixing it on a computer afterwards.” Steven admitted his strengths, trying to show where his strong points were within the industry. Connie knew that the whole conversation was awkward and embarrassing for him - but there wasn’t anything that she could do to make it stop. It was certainly a much better conversation to what they had spoken about in the past. 

The Maheswaran parents knew how stubborn their daughter was and she was never going to remove Steven from her life. Whether it was simply a rebellion against her parents or they were truly in love, Connie’s parents didn’t see any difference. As much as they had tried to like him over the years, he still wasn’t one of the men that they had personally selected. He was never going to be right in their eyes. 

Despite that, they had surprisingly been holding their tongues for a lot longer than anyone would have expected. Connie should have been grateful that they were willing to tolerate him at the very least. 

“Sounds interesting.” Doug commented as a way to try and make the silence that was shared between them all a little less awkward. Steven couldn’t help but feel that no matter how much he tried to say or do something to impress them that it would never be good enough. They always seemed to lower his confidence in himself. 

“Yeah...it’s pretty fun.” Steven smiled the best he could. 

"Is that a sustainable career path?" Priyanka suddenly butted in. 

"Mom!" Connie nearly yelped her word, embarrassed that her mom would have even considered commenting. She excepted nothing less from her mother, but that didn't mean that she was any less shocked when it came out of her mouth. 

"It's a simple question, Connie. You're making it sound as if I've asked him something that you would deem offensive. I'm curious to know more." Priyanka defended her actions, continuing to dig into Steven. 

That was all they ever seemed to have done whenever they were around the man. Probe him for answers until he finally gave in with the answers. There was no way he was going to get away from being asked them. 

"I  _ would _ deem it as offensive." Connie gnawed on her bottom lip as she prevented herself from going any further with her comments. The last thing she wanted was to have gotten into a full-blown argument with her parents in the middle of the restaurant. It wouldn't have been the first time. 

"My dad seems to be doing pretty well, so, yes. I would consider it a sustainable career path." Steven nodded, answering the question before any more petty arguments could continue. He never wanted to have been the divider between Connie and her parents. 

Although, it felt as if he already was and always would be. 

"See, he answered the question. Amazing." Doug commented, trying to stop both his wife and daughter from getting at each other's throats. He certainly didn't miss that when Connie was a teenager. "Lovely dinner, right?"

"It was amazing. Thank you, Dr and Mr Maheswaran." Steven made sure to be polite in regards to the meal. He was thankful for the fact that they had offered to pay for the meal in the first place, considering they were still convinced that Steven didn't have a real job and reality was he had millions to his name. 

He was willing to prove his maturity. 

"We should go out for meals more often, we never seem to go out together as a family." Doug commented, trying to make the situation better as both Connie and Priyanka stared at one another from the opposite sides of the table. 

No matter what, whenever they were together they only ever seemed to have clashed. 

"I agree. Perhaps one day we could go out with my dad too?" Steven threw out the suggestion, causing everyone to freeze. 

"T-that would be nice." Doug wasn't quite sure what else he should have said. They had never met Greg before, despite seeing him in the distance at particular events.

"Yes, very much so." Priyanka agreed. Despite everything, she still would have liked to have seen how Steven was raised. It was unconventional, but at least it would have given her some kind of insight into the situation he was brought up in. 

Steven looked over at both of Connie's parents as they all sat in uncomfortable silence. He slowly pulled his wallet out of his pocket and placed it on the table. 

"I'd like to offer to pay." Steven nodded towards both of her parents as he made the offer. It had been a pretty fancy restaurant and he was unsure of what it was going to have set him back, but it wouldn't have been something he couldn't have made up in the long-run. They had plenty of money put aside together for the tour. 

"No, we couldn't ask you to do that." Priyanka shook her hands out in front of her. The last thing she wanted to do was allow for her daughter's boyfriend to pay. 

"You didn't ask, I offered." Steven smiled, pulling out his bank card. 

Connie was a little confused by what was going on, concerned that Steven most certainly wouldn't have been able to afford the meal that they had just eaten. It would have set them back slightly before the tour, she had already worked out the finances. 

Doug and Priyanka looked at one another, Steven was trying to show that he could sustain himself through the career that he held. Enough for him to have bought the meal. 

"Well, that would be very nice of you, Steven." Doug practically gritted his teeth together. 

"That's no problem!" Steven smiled, trying to be on his best behaviour. He needed to prove himself somehow, even if it was just to show his maturity when it came to eating meals out as a family. 

Connie watched as Steven offered to pay for the meal. It certainly wasn't something that she had expected him to have done, but she couldn't help but feel as if the act helped win him over with her parents slightly more. It was a bonus to how he was seen in their eyes. 

Steven was happy with his offer and didn't hesitate to put his card into the machine, feeling devastated when the number flashed up on the screen. He wasn't even sure of what it was that he had eaten, why was it so expensive? 

Thankfully, Connie was on a time-limited, which meant that the dinner with her parents would have unfortunately had to be cut shorter than they originally expected. It didn’t exactly make her parents the happiest people on the planet for her not wanting to stick around for any longer, but at least she had spent some time with them that she hadn’t done in a while. It wasn’t as if there was ever a chance for her to do so.

The Maheswaran swiftly left, not wanting to spend too much time in Nashville when they didn’t have to. It wasn’t their...scene. 

Although, given that they had left it gave Steven and Connie time to go and get set up at the bookstore for the talk and the signing. Max made her way to the store and met them there, happy to be a part of the tour. A  _ huge  _ part of the tour. 

“I’m sorry we had to have lunch with my parents.” Connie sighed as she pulled open the poster, standing beside Steven as he helped her set up in a space within the store. 

“Sorry? Connie, it’s okay. I don’t mind. I just didn’t know what I ate...” Steven pressed his lips together and attempted a smile. Sure, the time that he spent with Connie’s parents wasn’t always the most enjoyable, but he probably suspected that she felt the same way about it. 

“I think it was some kind of soup?” Connie squinted, the only thing she knew was that she had to pay an extortionate amount for her lunch. 

“That was  _ soup _ ?” Steven’s eyes widened. 

“I...I’m not sure.” Connie chewed her bottom lip, a little bit worried what her parents may have gotten them to eat. The restaurant was strange, perhaps a little too fancy.

“You didn’t go to that place where they give you a singular pea, call it  _ fine dining _ and then charge you thirty bucks, right?” Max snorted, finding it hilarious that the Maheswarans would take them somewhere like that. It was pretty in character. 

“It felt like that, yeah.” Steven furrowed his eyebrows, realising that what Max was saying was an incredibly accurate statement -especially for his wallet. Steven would have much preferred to have gotten a sandwich from a local sub shop. That was just his way of doing things, considering he had mostly survived on pizza for the better part of half his life. 

Connie made sure to set up her small stand with the books and the long poster that was propped up by the retractable metal holder that they would have been taking on tour with them. It was the best way to advertise what it was they were there for. 

It only took a few minutes for people to start piling into the bookstore, a few of them gasping at the sight of Steven standing off to the side. He made sure to wave at them awkwardly whenever he noticed them looking, just causing them to swoon a little more. Connie noticed their infatuation with the fact that Steven was there and not...the book. 

Either way, she set up the stand and people came and sat on the floor surrounding her as if she was speaking to a class of kids. Some people decided to stand up, but there were plenty of teenagers on the floor that she didn’t want to question their seating positions. 

“Thank you all for coming, I’m really happy to be sharing my new book with you. I’m going to be reading a section of it, I’ll see if anyone has any questions and then I’ll stick around at the end so that if you do want to buy a copy - I’ll be happy to sign it!” Connie smiled as she bounced on her heels, holding a copy of her book tightly. 

Both Max and Steven stood off to the side to show their support without butting in to steal her thunder. 

Connie opened up the book and found the position on the page where she was going to read from that day. A teaser of what was to come for the audience. Something to encourage them to want to read the book. She cleared her throat slightly, swallowing all of her nerves as she read the extract out loud. 

_ When I was younger I had always made sure that everything that I did was up to the expectations that had been set for me. Whether that was making sure that I achieved the correct grades or presenting myself in a manner that made the people around me proud. I quickly learned that living life that way was...exhausting. Living up to the expectations that other people set for you isn’t a good way to live your life. I slowly realised that trying too hard was the thing that was making me unhappy. The thing that made me not want to continue pushing myself to be the person I thought I had to be. It took me a long time to conclude that you could be whoever you want to be, as long as you took the time to put the effort in. The same amount of effort and energy you were putting into fuelling the mask that covered your true identity day after day.  _

_ I didn’t think I would ever be able to find out who I truly was, I had never been allowed to do so. That was until my best friend that I had met in college asked me to go on tour with some band that she liked. Admittedly, I had argued with her a lot about having to go. I thought that the way I was going to find myself was to go backpacking throughout that summer, become one with myself and nature - but instead, I found myself crammed into a sweaty music venue every single night. Who would have thought? _

Connie spoke with confidence as she read passages from her book, the people in front of her were kind enough to sit and stare at her as she spoke - listening to everything that she had to say about the thing that she had worked so hard on. 

People were even nice enough to ask her questions about the book that she had written. It was nice for her to have been able to answer them with confidence in her tone. It was like a test that she knew how to ace. The people in front of her made her feel bigger than she was. 

Writing the book was worth it if it meant that the people in front of her had smiles on their faces when they read it. If one person could relate to what she had written, that was enough for her to continue the passion that she had discovered that she had. 

“Wouldn’t it be funny if someone was a massive fan and you spelt their name wrong?” Max snorted at the thought as she sat beside Connie on the table, ready for her to begin to sign a bunch of the books for people who showed up to her small reading. 

“That’s why we have Post-Its!” Connie nodded as she pulled the small block of colourful paper towards her. 

“Right. That makes sense.” 

The first person in the queue stepped up to the table with the book that they had just purchased at the front of the bookstore. They were quick to put it on the table, a teenage girl who was dressed in an alternative outfit - one like what Max was used to wearing when she wasn’t in her business attire. 

“Hello! Who would you like this addressed to?” Connie smiled up at the first fan that had come up to the table to get their book signed. They seemed incredibly shy. 

“Uhh...Hannah will be fine.” 

“Ooo that’s a tough one, too many H’s or too little. Let our dear Connie here know so you don’t post the incorrect spelling of your name online like it’s a Starbies cup.” Max grabbed the Post-It notes and placed them in front of the young girl. 

“Right.” She chuckled, not quite sure who the person beside Connie was - yet. Eventually, after reading the book she would have been able to know that the one and only Max Kayori had been the one to crack a joke with her. 

The girl scribbled her name onto the Post-It, turning it back to Connie for her to copy the spelling. 

“I hope that you enjoy reading your new book! Let me know if you have any questions.” Connie smiled once more, happy to know that the young girl was listening to her every word. 

The girl seemed rather shy and it only reminded Connie of how she was as a teenager. A part of her wanted to make sure that through people like the young girl in front of her she was reaching out to them in a way that made them know that things would eventually get better for them. It was something that Connie wished someone would have been able to tell her when she was younger. 

Hannah bounced on her heels for a moment as she picked up the book and smiled, glancing down at the small positive note that Connie had written in the front cover. It was personal and most of all - it felt like a message that she could get behind. It made Connie happy knowing that by signing the books it could mean that the books would be something that would sit on a bookshelf forever. They would be important to whoever got them. 

“Is Steven Universe here?” The teenager questioned causing both Connie and Max to give off the same expression. 

The two best friends looked at one another slowly.

“N-no, it’s only me for now.” Connie tried her hardest to smile once more. She suddenly felt hurt, taking away all of the hard work that she had spent so long on. 

“Oh. We thought that Steven was going to be at the signing too.” She furrowed her eyebrows, somewhat confused at the miscommunication that she had received. 

“ _ We _ ?” Max cocked an eyebrow, wanting to gauge how bad the situation was. 

“Oh, a bunch of us are big fans of Star Destroyers. Since it’s a book about Steven...we thought he’d be here too.” The fan half-smiled as she hugged the book, not quite realising what her words were doing to Connie on the inside. 

"That logic is whack. Harry Potter is a book about Harry Potter - do you think he showed up at book signings?" Max squinted, unintentionally coming across as rude. 

"Uhhh...no?" 

"Exactly!"

It wasn’t a book about Steven. It was a book about Connie and what it was like being  _ with  _ Steven. The fan had gotten it all wrong. 

“Well, Steven isn’t here at the moment. Although, the book does mention him quite a few times. Might be perfect reading material?” Connie didn’t mean for her comment to come off at rude as it sounded, receiving a subtle kick from Max underneath the table as if she hadn't said something that was even ruder. Oh boy. 

“Y-yeah, I’ll read it! Thank you.” The girl was quick to scurry away, a part of her feeling guilty for even bringing Steven up. It seemed as if it was a sensitive topic. 

Connie chewed the inside of her lip, mentally preparing herself for the next person in the line. There was no way that every person who wanted to read the book was more interested in Steven than they were her. 

“Man, Star Destroyers fans are fucking annoying.” Max folded over her arms as she tilted back on the chair, hoping that the fan’s comments didn’t get to Connie as much as she thought they would.

Internally, Connie was stewing. It wasn’t Steven’s fault that there were fans of his showing up at her book signings, she should have expected it - especially in Nashville. A part of her was hoping that as the tour went on there would be more people who were willing to see her than there were people who were there to see if they could snap a picture with Steven. 

She was so grateful for the fact that Steven had gone to the bathroom and to grab them all coffees. All it meant was that he would have been hidden from the public eye for a few minutes as he completed the quick errands. 

“It’s fine. Steven’s fans are bound to turn up to these events! It’s not shocking news.” Connie laughed as a way to hide the internalised pain that she was experiencing. This wasn’t going to be about Steven.

“This is about you, my dear friend. Nobody else. You can’t let something like that get to you, there’s plenty of people who are here for  _ you _ !” Max attempted to encourage her best friend to make sure that she wasn’t stuck in a specific headspace. Just because Steven was a part of a book and some of his fans would have been joining them on the book tour, it didn’t mean that Connie wasn’t going to be able to have her own fans by the end of it. 

“It’s fine.” Connie shook her head as she repeated her words, there was no way that she was going to be the one to admit that she felt some kind of grief over the fact that Steven’s fans were there to see him and not her. 

“Let’s just...keep it going.” Max sighed, not wanting Connie to feel bad over the situation. There was bound to be someone who was there for Connie’s book and not for her connection to Steven. 

Another problem with Steven being famous. Something that throughout their relationship she still hadn’t gotten used to, something that she had even gone over inside of the book itself. From the first time that she had been on a date with Steven in Chicago where a fan had come up to their table inside of a cafe and bothered them, all the way to the copious amounts of times that they had been hassled over the years. 

Why was there so many times in which Steven’s fame had caused them to have some kind of downfall? It never seemed fair on them. There was no way that they could have gotten away from it. 

This was one of the many things that the book went over that frustrated Connie. Hopefully, as the tour went on and people managed to read the book then they would have been able to sympathise with Connie’s situation. 

The next person came up from the line and smiled as they approached Connie, placing the book onto the table. 

“How are you today?” Connie asked politely, attempting to swallow everything that she thought about the situation that had come from the last person in the line. These were people that wanted to read her book for one reason or another - she shouldn’t have been mad over some viewership that she may not have had without Steven. 

She wouldn’t have even been able to write the book without Steven. Without falling in love…

“I’m doing good, thank you. Can you sign it to Katie, please?” The young woman in front of her was a little perkier than the last, Connie hoped that she wouldn’t mention anything about Steven. 

“Yeah, of course I can!” 

“Post-It note.” Max pushed one of the coloured sheets of paper across the table towards the young woman who happily scribbled the spelling of her name. Luckily, it was just as Connie had suspected to spell it. 

“Did it take you long?” Katie asked, Connie instantly looked up at the question. 

“Sorry?”

“The book. Did it take you long to write?” 

“Oh. Well, the writing itself was around four months, but the publishing and editing process is a nightmare. That can take forever!” Connie was a little shocked that someone had asked her a question on the table. 

Max folded over her arms once more and smirked up at the young girl, incredibly happy that she had allowed Connie to regain some of her confidence in regards to her book. Max could have high-fived Katie.

“That’s really interesting, I can’t wait to read it! I know some of the book is about the Star Destroyers tour. I was at the Nashville show!” Katie grinned widely, proud to say that she had been a fan for a long time. Even before they had gotten their latest album out in the world before they went on the UK tour. 

“That’s...really cool! I wrote a bit about Nashville in the book, I didn’t quite know that it was going to become my home when I went to the show though.” Connie felt a little better about the situation. Despite them relating the story to Star Destroyers - it wasn’t as if they were relating it to Steven specifically. 

“That’s awesome! I’m going to start reading it on the bus home, thanks so much for signing it!” The girl gripped onto either side of the novel and held it tightly. 

“No problem!” Connie smirked, happy that someone had shown some interest in her book and her writing process. That was exactly what she had expected and what she had wanted from the people that she would have been interacting with when on her tour. 

The girl who had approached the table slowly walked away. It was nice to have had a conversation with someone who was legitimately interested in what she had to say. It was someone who wanted to read the book - it wasn't just about being a fan of the band. 

“See? She liked you for  _ you _ !” Max nudged Connie in the arm as she sat beside her. Connie blushed slightly, she could already tell that it was going to have been a mixed bag of people who were going to be there for her and the people who were going to be there for Steven. 

The signing didn’t go on for very long, Steven had come back when they were near the end, stating that the line at the coffee shop was far longer than what he had anticipated. It was mostly due to him getting into a prolonged conversation with the barista that he was too polite to get out of. 

Connie didn’t want to tell Steven about the interactions that she had with the people who had come to her signings. She didn’t want him to get upset and think that perhaps it could have been considered his fault for the fact that his fans wanted to be there for the story. She knew he would have been sad if he had found out, he only wanted the best for Connie. 

“Hey Con, don’t feel bad about what that person said earlier - alright? It’s just...that’s just how it’s going to be. Your fandoms are linked!” Max gripped onto Connie’s shoulder as she began to roll up the poster and pack down the stand that she had brought along to the signing. 

“It’s okay, I get it.” Connie smiled, not wanting to seem out of sorts and act strange around the way that the fans had reacted to her first signing. It felt selfish for her to complain about it. 

At least they had taken the effort to come out and see her. Even if a few of them were hoping that they could meet Steven instead. 

“Well, don’t feel too bummed out about it - alright? It’s fine!” Max attempted to be a supportive shoulder, the last thing she wanted was for Connie to have felt bad about what had happened. The likelihood was...it was going to happen again. 

“Let’s just get this packed up, right?” 

“Yeah.” Max confirmed, placing the poster under her arm as Connie passed it to her. 

Luckily, they managed to go back home to their beds for the last time for what would have been a couple of weeks. Getting a plane to Atlanta in the morning would have been a good experience for them all. It was always great that Steven knew that he wouldn’t have to drive anywhere. That was always a bonus. 

Living in hotel rooms had never been a nightmare, but after a while, it did get rather repetitive. Max had her own room in all of the places that they were staying. Connie and Steven could only assume that the room would mostly consist of some kind of shenanigan that they were both too embarrassed to find out about. 

Max probably would have told them if anything crazy happened anyway. 

Connie and Steven found themselves relaxing with one another on their comfy bed that they had spent far too long deciding on when they had first moved it. It was totally worth it, Steven could have only described it as ‘sleeping on a cloud’. Although, they enjoyed using the space to huddle up and read. 

Considering reading books was one of their favourite hobbies, the two of them would often sit and read together. Steven would sit with his back propped up against the headboard balancing the book on his chest as Connie would lay on his stomach between his legs and bury herself in her own book. They would often exchange books so that they had something to discuss, but overall - it was a nice activity for them both to share. 

So, as they both wound down from Connie’s first signing they both sat in the bed and read different books. It was the perfect thing for them to have gotten their minds off the rest of the tour that they were going to embark on in the morning when they would have to leave for Atlanta. They just wanted to spend some quiet, undisturbed time together. 

“Connie?” Steven whispered, slowly removing the book from on top of his chest so that he could look down and see her. 

“Yeah?” Connie tilted her head upwards so that she could partially see him, half-expecting him to make some comment about the book he was reading. 

“Your parents are never going to like me, are they?” He furrowed his eyebrows, still emotionally sitting on the conversation he had been a part of earlier on during the day at lunch. 

Connie immediately made sure to sit up, practically rolling over his leg so that she was on her stomach and able to see him before shuffling into a seated position. 

“You know my parents are impossible.” 

“I do try though, right?” Steven furrowed his eyebrows, self-conscious that after years of being with Connie he still couldn’t seem to have won over her parents. There were times where he thought that it couldn’t be true as he shared the odd joke with Doug - but he knew it wouldn’t last for very long. Before the next time that they had all gotten together he would have been scowled for something that was out of his control or wasn’t...him. 

“Yeah, you try. I just don’t think it’s worth trying to spend the time winning them over when they’re never going to be happy. You don’t have to worry about them.” Connie gently stroked his thigh for comfort, making sure that he knew she was there for him even when her parents were so set on making him feel down about himself. She hated when they did that. It wasn’t fair on her and it wasn’t fair on Steven. They didn’t seem to care whose feelings they hurt in the process. 

“I know...it just really gets me down. I want to be the best person possible for you and I just feel like I can never live up to your parent’s standard.” Steven sighed. 

“You don’t have to live up to anything. You’re perfect to me!” Connie half-smiled, hating the fact that whenever they did see her parents they were always met with the lowering of Steven’s self-esteem. 

“You’re perfect to me too.” Steven pressed his lips into a thin line as he forced a smile, unable to look any happier as he thought about the words that they had used to ask him about his life. It was true that nothing would have ever been good enough for them. Their standards were impossible. 

“We should probably get some sleep - we have a flight tomorrow.” Connie suggested as she tilted her head towards Steven to show him some kind of sympathy for his situation. It wasn’t her fault that her parents always treated Steven poorly, but she knew that it was something that she could never change. Their opinions would have always been the same, despite over the years of them knowing him allowing them to get slightly better whenever they came in contact. 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Steven sighed as he placed the bookmark in the page that he was currently on and closed the book slowly, placing it on the nightstand that was on his side of the bed. 

They eventually both made themselves comfortable under the covers, snuggling up to make sure that they were as close as they possibly could be. It was the same every night that they were together. One of the best things about living in the same house. 

“I can’t wait for you to be my groupie.” Connie kissed him softly on the lips in the dark, feeling him smile as she pulled away. 

“I’ll make sure I work hard to maintain my title.” Steven chuckled quietly. 

Before either of them could respond to the witty comments that they had both made, the two of them fell asleep with one another as they did every night. Ready for the true beginning of the tour tomorrow.


	3. Atlanta, GA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven starts to realise that his presence on the tour may be more of a hindrance than a help.

“It’s only an hour.”

“I think the problem is... the airports. I hate airports.” Max scowled as they stood in line for security at the airport, already having checked in the large suitcases filled with books and promotional material. Now it was just the case of getting themselves on the plane. 

“We’ve got a lot of planes to go on through the tour, you know that - right?” Connie chuckled as she stressfully organised her items inside of the tray before it went through the scanner. Nobody wanted to be inside of an airport for longer than they needed to. 

“I know, but this place sucks ass.” Max sighed, accepting her fate that she was going to have to spend a decent amount of time inside of an airport. They were always dirty. They were always an intense anxiety-inducing location. Max internally smiled to herself, knowing that she had referenced PUP’s 2020 EP, This Place Sucks Ass without anyone questioning her geeky emo-ness. 

“Books and planes. Seems like a cool title of a movie.” Steven grinned, wanting to make light of the situation. As much as he didn’t always enjoy flying, he had gotten used to it over the last couple of years.

It felt weird for Steven to have been travelling with Connie and Max. It felt as if he was missing some of the most important people in his life, some of his best friends - Jenny, Sour Cream and Buck. As much as he would have wanted them to have come on the book tour with them all, there wasn’t very much excitement in it for them. Besides, they all had their own things going on which meant that they would have been better suited at home. 

“I’d rather it was just books and planes. That way we wouldn’t have to go through an airport.” Max grumbled, folding over her arms and mentally preparing herself for the person in security to run the large device over her body to make sure that she wasn’t concealing anything. 

"So, you're admitting that you'd prefer if I drove us across the country in the van?" Steven cocked an eyebrow, curious to know if that would have been the case. 

"No! I was so excited to go inside of the Star Destroyers van, but with everything I know about it now - I'd rather bath myself in acid than go into that unhygienic cesspit." Max shuddered at the thought. She had heard a lot about the things that happened inside that van. She refused to know more. 

"It's not that bad." Steven defended, it wasn't as if he kept things unclean. He was an incredibly hygienic person, the problem with the van was most certainly the age. It could have been given some love. The band certainly didn't treat it with as much respect as they should. 

"It's pretty bad." Connie commented, not wanting to get into an argument but wanting to fight her point enough that Steven would listen. 

Steven had always had the van, but after they had moved in together it had become increasingly hard to make journeys in a vehicle so large for everyday commutes. Connie wanted a car and a car she got. The Dondai was the perfect vehicle for them both to share if they needed to, often Connie would end up in the Dondai and Steven in the van. It wasn't that she refused to drive the van - but she knew she didn't want to. 

After getting onto the plane it didn’t seem as if Max had the same problem of anxiety to contend with. It was a lot nicer now that she was sitting on a plane and not stuck inside of an airport. Airports were the worst. The only good thing about them was their ability to allow you to go wherever in the world upon request and the vast amount of people gathering in one space from just about...everywhere! 

Connie was a little nervous that as soon as they got to the signing event that she would have been subjected to Steven’s fans. She hadn’t gotten the opportunity to speak to him about it after what had happened, but it was something that she would have much preferred to have kept to herself. 

She knew that if she were to bring it up in conversation, she probably would have fought back hard enough that it would have ended in an argument. That wasn’t something that Connie wanted to get into - especially when they were on tour. 

Their first port of call was to get inside of their hotel room and throw their bags aside. It was going to have been rough going from airport to airport on a day to day basis. There was something about having the van that gave them enough time to relax between visiting the different cities. 

Although, they certainly wouldn’t have wanted to take the trip in a van this time. There was no way that with the tight schedule that they were on that they would have been able to travel that way. 

Max and Connie were a little annoyed that neither of them would have spent a lot of time exploring different locations. Steven was disappointed that he wouldn’t have been dragged around a bunch of different museums. 

Connie sat on the end of the bed, suddenly feeling as if the Atlanta signing was her first. After spending the previous two days doing the same thing, she couldn’t help but feel as if now that they were out of their home state that things were going to have been completely different. This was the true start of the tour. 

Steven sat beside her at the end of the bed and gently touched her thigh as she looked away before placing her hand on top of his. He could already tell that she was nervous about it all. A lot was going on in her mind. 

“What was it like when you played your first show?” Connie suddenly asked, taking Steven by surprise. He was sure that he had spoken about it with her before, but it was clear that she needed some kind of reassurance to make her nerves feel a little more justifiable. 

“My first show? What do you count as a ‘show’?” Steven laughed, attempting to get into the logistics of the situation. It did matter whether or not she meant a show in front of his parents when he was very young or his first live show in front of a bunch of people. 

“The first show that you played as a band.”

“Oh. It was awful. Really bad. I try not to think about it.” Steven couldn’t help but chuckle some more as he spoke. 

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.” Connie scoffed. 

“I was super nervous at first and then as soon as we started playing, everything was fine!” Steven spoke in a happy tone. “Oh, until Sour Cream accidentally put his foot through the bass drum that was owned by the venue and we had to pay for that. That was bad.” 

“I can see that happening.”

“It did happen.”

“I can see that happening again.” Connie corrected as she chuckled, unable to hold it in for much longer. 

Steven looked over at her, furrowing his eyebrows as they sat with one another at the end of the bed. He had noticed that the last couple of days she had shown a slight disconnect that he wanted to get to the bottom of. He wanted to know if she was okay or not, despite already asking the question multiple times and begging for an answer. 

It was important to Steven that she was as happy as she could be when she was on the tour. It was supposed to have been an enjoyable experience and for it to have been any less would have been a struggle for them both. 

“It happened again. Twice.” Steven shrugged, trying to make light of the situation. At the time, it had been incredibly expensive. For a band that didn’t have any following at the time.

“You guys must really like kicking drums. What did they ever do to you?” Connie found herself smiling, something that she knew she had gone to Steven to find. He never failed to make her lips curl upwards. 

“Look, Sour Cream holds the vendetta - we just have to pay for it.” Steven shrugged with a smile, attempting to make her laugh even more. He was happy to know that his joke worked in making her chuckle.

There was a moment of silence that caused them both to press their lips into thin lines, a little deflated by where they were. It wouldn’t have been long before Max was knocking on the door of the hotel room and requesting that they both made sure they were ready for the signing - especially Connie. 

Steven shuffled a little closer towards her and reached over to brush the hair away from her face. They were pretty much ready to go out and he couldn’t wait for Connie to spend yet another afternoon speaking to all of these people in a line that was ready to read the content that she had created. It was amazing in Steven’s eyes and he couldn’t wait to see her in her element. 

Connie happily allowed Steven to play with her hair as she looked over at him, his kind eyes filling her with some kind of confidence. The past couple of years of them being together had been the best years of her life. Spending her time with Steven was all she truly wanted. 

She noticed that in the silence, Steven had made his move to kiss her. All he required was a small kiss on the lips to continue his day, but Connie was happy to have made sure that he got slightly more than that. She could have done with the same treatment as he kissed her again at the end of the bed. 

Slow kisses that made both of them aware that they were there for one another through all of the good and bad times that they had ahead. It was nice to know that there was someone there for you no matter what the circumstances. 

It was nice to have been able to kiss Steven, nothing more and nothing less. It was a perfect way to spend the moment when she wanted to be as distracted as possible by her nervous thoughts. 

Steven gently removed his lips from Connie with a smile, making sure to linger in her personal space for as long as he could. It was the perfect opportunity to do so. A mixture of small kisses and ones that stuck around for longer. 

“You’re going to do amazing.” Steven whispered, wanting nothing more than to make sure that she felt confident in what it was she was doing. The tour was going to have been stressful and he knew it. She had never done anything of the sort before. 

It was different when all of the attention was focused on you. Connie had never enjoyed the idea of all of the attention being situated onto her, but that was beginning to change as she had created something that she wanted people to see. 

“You say it like you know what’s going to happen!” Connie groaned slightly. As much as she loved Steven, sometimes his optimistic outlooks could be a little unrealistic. The pragmatic side of her couldn’t help but argue with some of his unlogical outlooks. 

“Well, I know that you’re going to do great! You always do great!” Steven kissed her lips quickly as he finished speaking, wanting to make her feel as good as humanly possible. 

Steven wanted to assure she was confident when she was in the position of meeting lots of different people. Connie couldn’t always agree with his outlooks on her as a person. Steven always saw the best in her and that wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but it certainly made Connie feel as if sometimes he was just saying it because he felt as if he had to.

Although, at the same time she knew that everything that came out of Steven’s mouth was with love and genuine support. He only ever wanted the best for Connie and she knew that all too well. 

"You're always too nice to me." Connie laughed slightly, finding it hilarious that Steven's comments always made her smile. No matter what, he wasn't going to let her speak poorly about herself. He just wouldn't allow it! 

"I think I'm the appropriate amount of nice to you." Steven nodded with a smug grin. 

"You've never been mean to me - ever!" Connie countered, finding it funny how nice of a person Steven was. He had a heart of gold. 

"Do you...want me to be mean to you?" Steven sounded a little confused. 

"N-no! Never!" 

"Okay. Good. I don't ever want to be mean to you!" Steven shook his head, reaching out his hands to touch her arms. 

"I know." Connie smiled, completely smitten by the man. 

Steven was one of the sweetest men that Connie had ever met. It didn't take much for her to have swooned over him, knowing how kind his true nature was. He was a sweetheart and everyone knew it, despite him always being the one to have been called out for being his mother's son. 

That wasn't always the case and the people who knew Steven knew that it wasn't true. 

Steven was so much of a sweetheart that in recent years he had done everything he could to make sure that he could return to some kind of normality when it came to The Gems. After he got incredibly nervous over the idea of Pearl coming to see him and ending up in the presence of Garnet, instead, he knew that things between him and the Gems had to change. 

Despite all of the pain that came from it, Steven made a lot of effort to make sure that he could be with the people that helped raise him as a kid. Connie was supportive in every way as he made phone calls to them now and then. It never had to be much, but it was nice to have just said 'hello'. He still hadn't been able to bring himself to speak to Pearl. 

Connie made her way to the signing with her two best friends and what also now seemed to have been business associates, Steven and Max. Everything from dragging posters and books into the bookstore had become their new job role. 

Max had gained a lot of confidence in herself from just having to speak to the people inside of the bookstore to make sure everything was up to standard for her...client! She always made sure that they had everything that they needed for the readings and the signings, each of them following a similar structure. 

Day after day they made sure to meet as many people as they could. The best thing for it would have been for Connie to have made sure that her face was seen practically...everywhere! That included making sure that the large poster with her face on it was hung up every day. Connie...found it rather intimidating. 

It was hard being on tour and she was suddenly starting to feel the exhaustion that Steven had spoken about on multiple occasions. The exhaustion that came from performance and making sure that she had enough social energy to meet everyone. She had to admit that along with the flights, it was an incredibly stressful experience. 

She wasn't quite sure how long she would have been able to keep it up at the same pace. It had been decided now. There was no way that she was going to have been able to back down from the biggest career opportunity that she had ever been given. This was her time to shine and she had to learn how to use it wisely else it would have been a complete waste. 

Connie had to admit that even though the signing had gone well the day before, she was still a bundle of nerves. So much so that she was experiencing bouts of nausea where all she could think about was how her stomach was doing backflips. Regardless of how she felt, she was going to have to attend the signing. It was the best thing to help promote her book. 

Once again, she was worried that the people who were attending the signing were there for Steven - rather than her. She was feeling guilty over feeling some kind of hurt about it. It wasn’t Steven’s fault that it was happening. It wasn’t as if she was mad at him. 

Although, Steven had felt a different kind of distance between them when they had travelled to Atlanta. It wasn’t one that he could have compared to anything else, but he continued to hold the ring inside of his pocket as if he could instantly find the best place to reveal it. He probably should have spoken to Max…

She may have known the best way to go about it. 

Steven liked to think that he knew Connie the best, but he was sure that Max sometimes won when it came to that award. She had known Connie for longer, but that didn’t mean anything. They had both shared secrets with Connie that the other wasn’t aware of. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them both the same, but it was more or less the content of the secrets that she held. 

"If anyone asks for a picture with you - I'm charging them twenty bucks!" Max claimed as she sat herself down beside Connie and pointed towards Steven. They had already done a reading at the bookstore, meaning that it was time for the second half of what could have been considered entertainment. 

With a quick snack and drink break between the reading and the signing, Connie was ready to face the people who wanted to speak to her about the words that she had written. She always found it flattering when people took time out of their day to think of a question that would have been suitable for her. 

"I usually do them for free." Steven furrowed his eyebrows at the comment, a little bit worried that Max would have charged his fans to take photos with him. That wasn't how Steven wanted to run things and it certainly wouldn't have been fair. 

"Well, this isn't your show. They're here for Connie!" Max snapped in a serious tone, despite Connie knowing that she was joking. In a way, Connie was a little thankful that Max had been the one to comment. It was a conversation that she knew she was going to have to have with Steven at some point...about him...being there. She wouldn't have ever wanted to hurt his feelings though. 

"I didn't mean-"

"She's joking." Connie touched his shoulder, knowing just how worried he would have gotten over the comment. 

"Right." Steven nodded, a little anxious that he was going to have imposed himself on the signings. That wasn't what he wanted to do. Max was right - it was all about Connie! 

"I hope we're getting something good to eat later, I'm starving." Max pushed the chair back as she spoke her mind. It was hard to get Max to stop talking about something she had locked her mind onto. In this case, it was dinner. 

"We’ll get something, don’t worry about it!” Connie assured, realising that with her stomach feeling the way it did from her nerves that she was unsure if she was going to be able to eat. It would have been difficult if the only thing she could think about was how sick she felt. 

Sick to the stomach. The only way that she would have been able to describe the way that she was feeling. The only way that she would have been able to comprehend the horrible things that she was feeling inside of her. 

It was horrible to have felt so anxious about something that she had already done twice. 

She had already gotten past the point of publicly speaking about her book inside of the store! This was supposed to have been the easy part, except for some reason it didn’t feel like that one bit. It was more or less the case of her feeling much worse as soon as the people in front of her began to line up. One by one, wanting to interact with her on a much more personal level. 

“I’m going to worry about it because food is the only thing I can think about.” Max gripped onto her stomach, a little annoyed that during the slight break she hadn’t eaten any more of the donuts that they had brought. At the time, it felt as if one of them was enough. 

She needed more. 

“We should get pizza.” Steven suggested, it was as if when he was on tour he couldn’t quite think about eating anything else. All he ever wanted was for his insides to have been coated in thick cheese. That was all. 

“We always get pizza! Man, stop being boring!” Max groaned, leaning back onto the table. “Maybe we should get sushi!” 

“Yes!” Steven pointed past Connie towards one of his best friends, instantly agreeing with what she believed would have been the superior food. 

Connie gently pushed his arm away from in front of her and sighed. 

“I’m down for sushi, but we need to get through this first.” 

“Hear that, Steven? Connie’s down for sushi!” Max leant back on the chair once more so that she could get a better look of Steven without Connie blocking her view. 

Steven followed her action and smiled before giving Max a secretive nod of approval. Dinner was going to have been awesome! 

“Sweet!” Steven let out a little cheer. It wasn’t as if they knew if there were any sushi places in Atlanta - but they were going to have made it their mission to find one regardless. They were sure there was going to have been somewhere!

Connie took in a deep breath and attempted to gather her thoughts away from food. Thinking about food was just making her nausea worse than it needed to be. Focusing on meeting all of the people who were there to see her was going to have been her next plan of action. There was no need for her to have been thinking about anything else - including food. 

Connie readjusted the pens that were sat in front of her, more than ready for everyone to step forward and request that she make a scribble in the front of the book that they had just purchased. She had only just gotten the opportunity to have perfected her signature, making sure that it was a little more than just a scribble. 

It always made Connie giggle seeing Steven’s signature, knowing that he did whatever he could to make sure that he could draw a small star above his name. It was in many ways adorable, but Connie couldn’t help but find that it was a little bit of a waste of time when there were so many people to contend with. Steven usually only had to sign vinyl records and CDs, although he did sign someone’s chest once. That was an interesting experience. 

Although, Connie doubted that she would have signed anyone’s chest. That would have been a little inappropriate at a bookstore. It was a little less inappropriate at the end of an alternative rock show. 

Person after person came over to the stand and requested that Connie signed their books. It was nice to have a variety of people that wanted to have Connie scribble on the front page. A lot of them were yet to have read it, but having the author there was a prime opportunity to have the book signed. 

Admittedly, a lot of them were Steven Universe fans and if they weren’t fans of Steven himself, then they more than likely were there because they knew about Rose Quartz. That or they enjoyed book signings and were super bored. It was a bit of a mash-up to see who her demographic was for the book. 

Connie didn’t want to admit that a lot of Steven’s fans being there was enough to have gotten her down. Of course, she knew that just by writing this book that a lot of the people that would read it would have been fans of Steven or his mother. That was a given. 

Her publisher had even pushed hard enough for her to have his name in the title as a way to help with marketing. In essence, it worked - but perhaps not the same way that Connie was hoping for. It would have been a lot better if they had done it some other way. Although, when the original title ended in ‘Falling in Love With Steven Universe’, she had argued her point. There was no way that she was going to have been that blatant about what the book was about. 

Sure, Steven was a huge part of the story - but it was also a story about self-discovery and what it’s like to have gone from being a girl in such a small world to having everyone around you know who you are and what it is you do. It also allowed Connie to share her views on the world, which the demographic that she was aiming for would more than likely love the idea of. 

It was something that she knew she was going to have to have a conversation with Steven about, even if it caused him to worry about being there at the signings. She wanted him there beside her the whole time, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t a little sad that people were more interested in him as a person than Connie. It was likely that would have been the case, but that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t have hurt Connie. 

Once again, they had found themselves attending a successful signing. Connie was happy to have stood up in front of the crowd and spoken about her book before getting to a point where she was sat on the events table seeing all of the people line up for her - and Steven. Max was happy to have just sat beside them both, acting a little like a bodyguard, protective of them both. 

“We’re going to have so much good food this tour.” Max closed her eyes as she ate a piece of sushi, incredibly happy to have been blessed by the food. 

“I’m happy to eat anything that isn’t pizza.” Connie laughed. 

“What’s wrong with pizza?” Steven frowned. 

“Pizza is beautiful, but I’m all for a selection of things to allow my palette to be cleansed. Also, ice cream. We need more ice cream.” Max pointed towards both of them sitting opposite her. 

“I can get behind having more ice cream.” Steven shrugged. 

Connie had been feeling a little queasy all day, making sure that the only sushi she had contained mostly vegetables. The last thing she wanted was to have been sick because of the food. It was likely it could have triggered whatever was inside of her and vomiting before going to the next signing would have made her life difficult. She didn’t want to be ill whilst on the tour. 

“We'll have to make some sort of map to see what kind of nerdy shit we could do this time. A lot of the signings are in the afternoon, which means a lot of the time the nerdy shit have will be in the evening.” Max pulled out her phone and began to flick through different web pages.

“I don’t know if there’s much nerdy shit we can do in the evening.” Connie furrowed her eyebrows, a little concerned that they may not have been able to do the things that they usually could. 

“That and we have to get up pretty early in the morning to catch the flights.” Steven added, forcing everyone on the table to become a little deflated with the reality. 

“Look, I’m sure we’ll be able to do a couple of fun things. We’re going to Vegas! That’s going to be sick!” Max was excited about that section of the trip. When they had travelled through Nevada the last time they had been on tour with Star Destroyers, they hadn’t been able to stop off in Vegas. 

Max had always been a little disappointed about that as she knew that the band had stopped there along the way, but they were both pretty certain that they wanted to get through the states as quickly as possible. It was at that point where they had gotten slightly ahead when it came to driving, causing them to not see the band for a couple of days. 

Max always wondered if Connie had forced them to do that route so that she could compute the feelings that she had for Steven. She knew that something happened between them when they went to the L.A. party and she could pretty much guess what that would have included. 

Backtracking, she probably wouldn’t have wanted to know what it was they got up to when they were in L.A..

“Please don’t gamble.” Connie placed her palm against her forehead, terrified that Max would have done something ridiculous in Vegas that she was going to have regretted. 

“Look, I’m an uncontrollable force of nature. I’ll only do what I gotta do to have the maximum amount of fun. We’ll just have to see what that is. It’ll probably include drinking. Yes. Drinking.” Max nodded, looking up at the ceiling and debating on what she would have been doing in Vegas. 

“All I ever ask for is for you not to get arrested.” Connie chuckled, her words speaking nothing but the truth. 

“You know me, I wouldn’t ever get to that point! I’m too skilled for that.” Max winked. She had narrowly avoided the law on several occasions, one of which she had been with Connie back in college. 

It had been a peaceful protest that got a little more passionate than anyone had expected. 

“Just, be careful.” Steven nodded at Max. 

“Damn, you sound like my dad.” 

“Richard is a nice man. I don’t see that being so much of a bad thing.” Steven pouted, not sure whether to sound offended by Max’s words. 

“Okay. Okay. My dad is super cool - I get it!” Max chuckled, everyone loved her dad. She was happy to have him as a father and a best friend. 

“We all have pretty cool dads.” Steven smiled, noticing that Richard, Greg and Doug were all nice people that just wanted the best for their kid. Steven was happy to say that he felt as if he got on with all of them. 

“I wouldn’t call Doug...cool.” Max squinted. 

“Hey! Come on, my dad’s cool!” Connie made sure to defend her dad, it was the least she could have done without him being there to defend himself. 

“Define cool…” 

“He’s...uh...well, he’s cooler than my mom, I guess.” Connie didn’t like speaking about her parents, a part of her terrified that somehow they stood behind her. That or she had accidentally dialled them on her phone and they were listening in. 

“I like your mom.” Steven was quick to comment, taking Connie by surprise. 

“You do?” Connie was confused, as far as she was aware the only relationship Steven had with her mother was one of silent stares and judgement. 

“She can be a little tough sometimes...but she cares a lot about you and that’s nice.” Steven smiled sweetly. The truth behind his words was his own experience with his mother that was hindered by their short time together. As much as Steven knew that Connie had a bad relationship with her parents, a part of him wanted her to make sure that they were always together. He knew that if she didn’t have a good relationship then if anything were to have happened to them, she may have regretted their time together. 

“Steven’s just a simp for anyone who also simps you.” Max winked. 

“Oh boy.” Connie sighed, this certainly wasn’t a conversation that she wanted to get into. 

Hanging out with her two best friends and going on tour for something that was her creative workings was fantastic. It was amazing to know that she had two of the best people on either side of her through all of it. She wouldn’t have changed it for anything. 

Well, if Max didn’t stop calling Steven a ‘simp’ then she may have retracted that previous statement. 

Falling back into the hotel rooms later on during the day was the best thing about the whole tour. It was nice to have had a shower and then head to bed ready to have woken up early the next morning so they could catch their flight. Usually, the flight would have only been under three hours to fly to each state, but that didn’t include all of the time that they were being dragged around the airport. 

The best thing to do was to make sure that they were at the airport as soon as possible. That way they knew they wouldn’t have been late. That way they knew they would have made it to the next city and had enough time to eat. 

It wasn’t too late in the evening when Steven and Connie had found themselves back inside of the hotel room, ready to go to bed within the next hour or so. They were finding repetition in their days, just as they had done time and time again when on tour with the band. 

In a way, it was nice to know what was on the horizon. Although, in many ways, they had no idea what was going to have happened over the next week or so on tour. It always felt as if when they went on tour there was something that would have hindered their time together. 

There had been one thing on Connie’s mind that was beginning to get to her a little too much. It was becoming apparent that a lot of the people who were coming to the signings were, in fact, some of Steven’s fans. She knew from the start that something like that would have happened, but that didn’t stop her from completely overthinking everything inside of her head. 

“So, I saw there’s a pretty big civil rights museum in Jackson. Want to go tomorrow?” Steven sat on the couch off to the side of the bed as he pointed towards his phone. Connie gently placed her book on her lap and looked over at him. 

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! I thought maybe you and Max might want to go? It would be a shame to go through all of these places and miss things! I know we’re doing a lot of travel and there probably won’t be much time for a lot of museum trips - but I think we should at least try!” Steven grinned as he continued to point up at his phone with the webpage for the museum on the screen. 

Connie found it sweet that he was actively going out of his way to find something that she would have very much enjoyed more than he would. It was something that he had done out of the goodness of his own heart. All he ever wanted was for Connie to have been happy and he knew that she was at her happiest when she was doing nerdy things with Max. He was happy to have been dragged around behind them. 

“I’ll have to talk to Max, but I’d be surprised if she said no.” Connie shrugged with a smile. 

Steven looked back down at his phone, expecting a little bit more of a reaction after finding something interesting that they all could have done together. It would have been a good way to have broken up the day and not made it entirely about the signing - it had only been two days of scribbling on the front covers of books and she already looked stressed out about it. 

“Are you...uh...enjoying the signing?” Steven attempted to spark some kind of conversation as he noticed her about to pick the book back up. 

Connie wasn’t sure what to say to him about it. It was a whole new experience for her, something that he had gotten used to through his time in the band. She wasn’t sure whether or not it was the signing or the reading that got to her the most. At least when she was reading excerpts of her book there was nobody that would have interrupted her. 

It felt as if she was speaking to everyone as a whole and not being silently judged by one individual. 

“It’s...different.” Connie placed her bookmark into the book and put it on the bedside table as she sat up slightly and looked over at Steven. “I guess it’s just a whole new experience. It feels strange to have the attention on me when it’s never something I expected.” 

“It is kind of weird when you’re in a room full of strangers, but they all know who you are!” Steven laughed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as he locked his phone and placed it back into his pocket. 

“They all know who you are. I don’t think half of them are going to read the book.” Connie chuckled, trying to disguise the hurt that she was feeling over her audience. She wanted to stop herself, it wasn’t as if what was happening was something that anyone could have fixed. Things weren’t like that. It wasn’t that easy. 

“Loads of people are buying it!”

“I don’t think the sales matter if nobody is reading it. I just want people to read it and relate to what I have to say. I want people to understand that it’s okay for them to be themselves. It’s difficult, but I got through it! They can too!” Connie clenched her fists together, passionate about the true meaning behind her book. 

“I’m sure they will! You wrote it really well and it would be a shame if people didn’t read it. They’ll be missing out!” Steven spoke in his usual supportive tone. Connie was happy to hear it, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t still feeling a little down about the whole experience. 

It was the beginning of the tour, she couldn’t let the last couple of days be the judge of what she was going to have faced on the road to come. There were so many things that could have changed from now until the point when they were in their last location. It was going to have been a tough time pulling through it all - but she knew it was going to have been worth it in the end. 

At least, that was what she continuously tried to tell herself. 

“I sort of understand what my editor meant when she said about putting your name in the title. I don’t think it would have sold otherwise.” Connie tittered quietly to herself as Steven looked up with a sad expression. 

He didn’t want her to have felt the way that she was feeling in regards to the project that she held so dear. The project that she had spent a great amount of time on over the year. Steven knew how much the book meant to her and to see her speak so poorly of it made him upset. 

Steven had seen her entire writing process, from staying up in front of the computer until three in the morning to writing notes on her phone when they were grocery shopping. She had the book on her mind the whole time. He had seen the days when she thought it was a waste of time to the days when she was incredibly excited about being a published author. 

Steven had learnt over time to deal with every emotion that swirled through Connie, just as she had spent time understanding him. 

“That’s not true! A bunch of people would read it, my name or not!” Steven defended, standing up to help make his point. He walked over to the bed and practically threw himself down in a seated position beside her, a little frustrated with the way that she was speaking about her work. 

“More than half the people who have shown up to the signings have wanted to speak to you more than they’ve wanted to speak to me. I’m not...I’m trying not to let it get to me, but it’s really hard when I’ve put all this work in. I-I’m sorry.” Connie felt selfish. Incredibly selfish. 

Steven was a little taken back by her comments. He couldn’t say that he was hurt because that wasn’t the emotion he was feeling, but it was certainly something that caused his heart to sink. It was a kind of guilt that he knew he shouldn’t have been feeling. 

“Do you...want me to go home? I can-” Steven began, wanting to do everything he could to make the whole experience the best he possibly could for Connie. If he was only going to hinder her success - he wasn’t going to be there. 

“I don’t want you to go home!” Connie instantly placed her hands on his shoulder, leaning in towards him as if to make sure he wasn’t going to leave. 

“Oh. I’m really sorry, Connie. I’m not trying to make this about anyone but you. If I could get them to stop then I would!” Steven shook his head, feeling guilty for just...existing. 

Why did he have to be the famous one? It was something that had irritated him his entire life. It was the one thing that always seemed to have gotten in the way of his relationship. The one thing that always put a wedge between them. Admittedly, that was mostly what the book was about. The divide and interruption that came from falling in love with someone famous. 

Which, in a way, was the sweet irony of what Connie was dead set she was irritated with. Something that had been on the brink of their relationship the whole time they had been together. Even from some of the first times that they had met - Steven’s fame amongst others was always a curse. 

“I know - it’s not your fault! I’m just whining for no good reason.” Connie sighed, she was also now feeling the same guilt. It was something that she wanted to try her hardest to avoid and yet the only thing she could think about was how bad she felt for even bringing it up. Steven had even offered to have gone home because of it! 

“No, I understand. I can back off if you want me too?” Steven questioned. 

“I don’t want you to back off...I just wish more people were there for the book.” Connie sighed as Steven switched positions on the bed so that she could snuggle up beside him. She most certainly didn’t want him to back off. 

“They will be! It’s only been a couple of days since the book has been out, I’m sure people are still reading it. Sometimes, it can take me ages to read a single book!” Steven tried his hardest to make her feel better about the situation. In a way, he was right. It hadn’t been very long and there was still plenty of time between then and when people began to read it. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m just being silly.” Connie placed her head on Steven’s chest and gently picked at the fabric of the cusp of his t-shirt. 

“You’re never silly!” 

“I’m always silly.”

“Not as silly as I am. I’m super-silly.” Steven argued, doing his utmost to make sure that Connie felt better about everything. As much as he maybe couldn’t have solved the issue with his fans, he wanted to do everything he could otherwise to make things better. 

“Yeah - you are, but you’re my silly.” Connie grinned as she continued to rest her head against him, reaching up and brushing her hand against the side of his face. He loved the pet name. 

“Well, I know now that I have claimed my title I can only come up with silly suggestions, but, I’m thinking we should get some rest.” Steven suggested as he attempted to cover up his yawn. There was nothing to stop him from showing how tired he was. There was no way he was going to have been able to stay up for another couple of minutes, let alone a couple of hours. 

Doing the book tour was nice in a way, considering they didn’t end up staying up until the early hours of the morning. Domestic life had taught them to go to bed slightly earlier which made going on tour a lot harder for Steven whenever it did roll around. Although, with all of the flights being early morning, it was only right that they got an early night’s sleep. 

“I hate to say it - but I think you’re right.” Connie sighed, still so much in her head that it would have been irritating to try and go to sleep without spilling all of her guts to Steven. The one thing that was starting to bother her and it was something that she couldn’t discuss with him. 

They shuffled around slightly to make themselves more comfortable. They both knew that they would have to spend some time both getting ready for bed, but neither of them wanted to get up just yet. Brushing their teeth and changing could wait. 

Steven made sure to face Connie before attempting any kind of speech. 

“Y’know...I’m really sorry.” Steven’s expression dipped as Connie felt her heart break at his words. He really did feel terrible about the situation with his fans. 

“Oh, Steven. It’s not-”

“I know, but I can’t help but feel it is. Your book is amazing, Connie and I want everyone to see that! I’m hoping that some of the people that like my music will enjoy it and find out how great of a person you truly are. I can step back if you need me to.” Steven’s expression dropped, speaking what felt to have been some kind of apology. Connie didn’t like the idea of him apologising for something that he simply couldn’t help. 

“I want you there with me.” Connie gently stroked her hand against his cheek. 

“I know, but if I’m going to be-”

“You’re not. I’m just complaining for no good reason. It’s not your fault and besides, people will start to read the book soon!” Connie tried her hardest to look at the more positive side of things. She knew that it wasn’t Steven’s fault, she couldn’t put all of the blame on him for existing. 

“Exactly! I guess...we’re just going to have to give it a little bit of time.” Steven gave her a sweet smile that she had been looking forward to all evening. 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Connie smiled back, still internally battling with herself over the idea that things were not going to have been as easy as she first thought. It was going to have been stressful to have seen Steven’s fans show up day after day, although she did have to think of it with a different perspective. 

The people who were Steven’s fans were eventually going to have been her fans too! 

“Let’s get some rest so that we can sign some more books!” Steven grinned as he moved Connie’s hand to his lips and kissed her. 

Connie knew that Steven was incredibly sweet and loving, he would have done anything to make sure she was having a good time with the project that she had poured so much heart and soul into. Enough that he had even offered to go home! 

Connie couldn’t have thought of much worse than Steven leaving her to have completed the tour on her own with Max. Sure, they made a great team - but she wanted Steven to have been there with her throughout her travels. She had followed him on tour a multiple times, it would have been a shame if she couldn’t return the favour! 

She eventually made her way into bed, snuggling tightly up against Steven after she found herself getting ready. Despite there being a lot on her mind, it would have only continued to have spiralled. Speaking to Steven didn’t exactly help in the way that she had expected, a little guilty that he was now self-aware over the idea that his fans were a little different to what she had been expecting. 

Connie took a deep breath as she shut her eyes and attempted to get some rest, knowing that the next signing she went to Steven would have been overly focused on the idea of people coming to him first. It was going to be nerve-wracking and she knew it. 

Anxiety was evil and there was nothing she could do to stop it. 


	4. Jackson, MS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie is sick to her stomach with worry - literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Some stress-related vomiting from here on out. Got to look out for my emetophobes! <3

Tour was going well. At least, that was what Connie believed.

Sure, she knew from the start that travelling from airport to airport and signing books wasn’t going to have been as interesting as something that Star Destroyers would have done. It would have been a lot more fun to have spent the time hanging out at an alternative rock show. 

Instead, they were stuck inside of quiet bookstores that smelled faintly of lavender and paper. There wasn’t anything more to it other than the people that they had been meeting along the way. 

The interesting characters that came up to get their books signed were the people who made the tour completely worth it. They were the ones that seemed to have put the most effort in seeing what it was that Connie was going to work on next or the ones that asked the interesting questions. 

The ones that didn’t fixate on the idea that Steven Universe was in the room and he was the only person that they wanted to speak to. Connie couldn’t help but allow it to hurt her feelings. As much as she tried to think otherwise, it was near enough impossible to shake the thoughts. 

Although, before they went to the signing there was something good that they all could have done together. Somewhere that both Connie and Max had wanted to go to and that Steven had suggested the night before. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. 

It was something interesting that they were all passionate about, Steven was always down for being dragged around a museum and picking up on a lot more knowledge. It was also fantastic to see Max and Connie in their element as they walked ahead of him.

Steven was happy to sit back and allow them to see whatever they needed to see, also educating him on historical facts that he wasn’t previously aware of. In a way, he loved every second. Well, he mostly just loved to hear Connie talk - no matter what it was about. 

Connie needed to do something that would have taken her mind off the signings that she was attending. Doing something that wasn’t related to her book for a couple of hours was the only way that she was going to have stayed sane. There was always so much going on that the past couple of days had already shown her a lot of stress. 

Connie knew that as time passed things would have only gotten better, but that didn't mean that she couldn't not feel the way she did within those moments. A never-ending spiral. A constant. It was the anxiety within her that told her ridiculous things about herself. 

It was perhaps the anxiety that stemmed from years of her parents giving her mixed signals on whether or not she was good enough. A constant battle between herself and her mind. A lifetime of struggle that she had battled through to get where she needed to be. It wasn't going to get better - no matter how content she was with her life. 

This was just something that she would have to learn to live with, even if it was frightening. 

Unlike all of the other days on the tour, she sat on the chair that was situated in the middle portion of the table with Steven and Max either side of her. She stared ahead, thinking about all of the things that she may have written wrong inside of the book. All of the things that the people who were lining up to see her were going to say. 

What would they say about her? 

What if everything she had done up until this point had been wrong? 

Was there any way of rectifying any of her previous behaviours? 

It was all out in the open now, the years within her life when she had graduated from college. There was no escape of having any kind of privacy in the way that she felt. 

The whole world knew she was anxious. It was inside of the book! It was in the title that she preferred her own company over others! Everyone knew who Connie Maheshwaran was and who she was going to have been once they had cracked through the surface of her true persona. 

She felt sick. Her chest was tight. An unexplainable absence of her usual pragmatic thinking. 

"Hey, Con? Are you in there?" Max nudged Connie gently, noticing that her friend looked a million miles away. It wouldn't have been the first time that Connie had completely zoned out, but it was the first time in a long time that Max had noticed. 

Connie turned towards Max with her mouth slightly ajar, slowly coming back into reality. A reality that it felt as if she was too weak to face. 

"Sorry, I just got caught up there." Connie chuckled, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose in the process. 

"Good to have you back on planet Earth! You've got books to sign!" Max cheered as Connie stared up at the line of people in front of her anxiously holding onto books behind a red barrier. 

Maybe Connie wasn't cut out to have been an author. A book tour was a big responsibility! It was her debut book and yet she was pushed to go on all of these dates! It was unheard of! 

Although, as much as she didn't want to focus on any of the numbers - if what Max had been talking about earlier when she had spoken to Connie about the book...it was selling well. Really well! Which, considering the genre, it was interesting to see it shooting up bestseller lists. It certainly wasn't unheard of, but it was a rarity. 

“Are you...okay?” Steven gently nudged her, as if to copy Max’s concern. He had noticed Connie’s disconnect as she stared ahead. 

Connie blinked a couple of times and looked back over to Steven, happy to have been beside him. She gave him a small smile before nodding, attempting to swallow any of her anxieties away. 

“So, can we get a picture with you, Steven?” The teenage boy asked as his friend stood beside him and nodded, waiting anxiously in anticipation for Steven to reply. 

Steven sat on the chair next to Connie and smiled awkwardly, he wasn’t quite sure what he should have done in the scenario. A part of him felt somewhat guilty that he would have been the person to deny them if Connie didn’t want him to do that at her signings. 

This was supposed to have been about her. Not Steven. 

Yet Connie didn’t quite care about that in that particular moment as she stared ahead at the line in front of her. All of the people were there to come and see her or Steven. At least, they were there to have picked up a copy of her book. 

That was the most important thing. They were going to purchase her book. They already had. They had to as a way to join the line, at least - she thought that was the case. Nobody had approached her without a book throughout the tour. It must have been. She didn't know anymore. She didn't know anything anymore. 

Why was she even there? It wasn't as if anyone was going to pay attention to the book that she had poured so much time into. It had been a waste of time. 

All of the time she had spent writing the book was useless, especially if it gained Steven more fame than any kind of gratification of praise that she would have gotten from her writing. She wished that they had never gone to the signing that day. 

“Uh, Connie - is that okay?” Steven leant over to Connie slightly, pressing his shoulder against her as he spoke quietly. He wanted to have permission about taking the photograph before he went ahead and did it. He never wanted to disappoint his fans, but he didn’t want to disappoint Connie either. 

After their conversation the previous night, it had only made Steven more conscious to the fact of making sure he didn't butt in when he wasn't supposed to. He understood that sometimes his fame could get in the way of their relationship. They had experienced it many times together. That was even what part of the book she had written was about! 

Connie didn't want to be selfish, but it was  _ her  _ book. She had every right to be mad about Steven taking the spotlight. Although, at that moment she really didn't think about that. She thought about...everything else. 

Connie didn’t respond. Too caught up in the moment as she stared ahead. 

Unable to speak. Her whole world was crashing around her. Crumbling. 

She couldn’t breathe. 

She felt sick. 

Really sick. 

She was going to be sick. 

Connie stood up dramatically, throwing the chair back behind her before darting as quickly as she possibly could out of the room and into the back. 

Steven and Max, who were sitting the opposite sides of her, immediately exchanged glances. Both of them sprung into action, standing up and running in the same direction that Connie had gone to leaving an employee at the bookstore standing in shock with the line to contend with. 

It immediately reminded Max and Steven of the time when they had first interacted - chasing Connie down through the corridors of a venue. 

Connie pushed through multiple doors before stumbling into the nearest bathroom she could find, sliding onto her knees as she pushed her head into the toilet and vomited violently. 

It was only seconds later that Max crashed into the bathroom, Steven suddenly finding himself trapped outside as he stared up at the door with the gender restrictions. As much as he wanted to be with Connie, he had far too much respect for the rules. There was no way of granting him access to the barrier restricted by gender. Stupid gender norms. Stupid!

He nervously stood outside and jammed his index fingers together as he paced back and forth. 

Max practically tumbled into the cubicle with Connie, pulling back her friend’s hair as a way to have been as helpful as she could. Connie had done the same for her before. It was simply returning the favour. Except, Connie hadn’t spent the day drinking. 

“Woah, Con - let it out!” Max bit hard on her bottom lip as she tried her hardest to assist her friend. She looked away in disgust, it certainly wasn’t a pleasant experience for either of them. Mostly Connie. 

Max stepped away as Connie reached up and flushed, disgusted with the fact that she had just had her head inside of a public toilet. Connie slumped herself down on the floor of the cubicle, pushing her back against the wall and tipping her head back in exhaustion. If she had her head in a toilet, there was no need to worry about the germs on the floor of the cubicle. 

Max stood in the doorway and looked down at her with concern. It changed everything on the book tour if Connie was sick. Max hadn’t factored that into the equation when she had helped book it. What would happen if they had to go home? Greg would have lost out on a lot.

“We really shouldn’t have gone to that weird sandwich place for lunch.” Max furrowed her eyebrows as she attempted to make light of the situation, swinging forward as she held onto either side of the open cubicle. She felt fine. It was only Connie. 

Connie wiped her eyes, the pressure of her sickness causing them to water. She groaned slightly in frustration. She hated being sick. 

“Do you want me to get Steven? Some water? Steven with some water? Steven in water? Steven...water?” Max tried everything she could to comfort her best friend in her moment of need. She knew that if it wasn’t something that she could have solved, passing the baton over to Steven wasn’t a bad idea. As long as Connie was okay in the end. 

“I-I’m okay. I just need a minute.” Connie spoke in a raspy voice as she pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead. She hadn’t felt particularly well all day. The stress of going on a tour that was all about her was finally getting to her. It hadn’t even been a week!

She was pathetic. 

Max pouted, unsure how else she could have helped Connie. 

“Okay, well, I’ll wait outside with Steven so that you can...freshen up a bit. Is that okay?” Max asked for Connie’s permission before leaving her side. 

“Y-yeah, that’s fine.” Connie pinched the bridge of her nose, not sure what else to say to Max. 

Max nodded, despite Connie not being able to see her as she stepped outside of the bathroom. She was immediately met with a panicked looking Steven who was desperate to know Connie was okay. Max didn’t allow Steven to begin asking the questions before she provided the answers. 

“She’s fine. She was just...sick.” Max furrowed her eyebrows, wondering if she had caught some kind of stomach bug on tour. Considering the amount of hand sanitiser they had all been using when meeting people, Max would have been pretty pissed if that was the case. 

“Does she need anything?” Steven blinked rapidly, desperately wanting to burst through the door and check on her. Although, Steven knew that Connie respected his space when he needed it. He should have done the same for her. 

“She’s going to need a  _ real big _ hug, bro.” Max breathed deeply, knowing that Steven would have easily been able to provide that comfort for her. 

“I can do that.” Steven nodded rapidly in confirmation. Hugging Connie was something that he could have done whenever and if she needed it for comfort - then he was going to be there. 

“I’m...going to go and get some water and tell that dude waiting outside that our fans might have to wait for a couple of minutes.” Max gave Steven an uneasy look as she pointed back to where the front of the bookstore was. 

Max was trying to do two things at once. Be a great friend - but also do her job. It was interesting to have to multitask the two, but she was up for the challenge. Although, making sure that Connie was okay would have always been her top priority. 

“Sure. I’ll...wait here.” Steven stood awkwardly, using every fibre in his body to give Connie space and not run into the bathroom to join her. 

Inside the bathroom, Connie had just gotten to a point in which she could stand back up and continue the rest of her day. She walked over to the bathroom sink with a groan, she hated being sick. Nobody enjoyed the feeling. 

Connie looked at herself in the mirror. She was shocked to have seen herself the way that she did, with sunken eyes and a wobbly lip. It had become acutely apparent that she was overly stressed with the tour that she was on, causing her a mass amount of anxiety to take effect on her physical body. It was horrible to think about. 

She quickly brushed some water over her face and used one of the disposable paper towels to dry herself off. A part of her went on an internal rant within her mind about it being a shame that the small bathroom had non-reusable products within it. It would have been just as easy for them to have purchased a hand-dryer. 

Connie made sure that her shirt was straight and didn’t have any kind of stains on it from where she had vomited. She was going to have to go back out there and face everyone once again...she was going to have to put on a happy face and continue the book tour. How was she supposed to do that when all she wanted to do was to go to bed? 

After a few deep breaths, Connie made her way out of the bathroom slowly only to have been greeted immediately by Steven.

“Connie!” Steven gasped after having paced back and forth an obscene amount of times. By this point, Max had already made her way down the street to try and see if she could purchase a bottle of water. No matter where she went it would have been expensive. Why didn't the bookstore have any water? Stupid bookstore. 

“Hey.” Connie practically grumbled as Steven took one big step towards her and opened up his arms, doing exactly as Max had instructed. 

Connie didn’t argue as she allowed herself to be held by Steven, softly burying herself into the crook of his neck for some kind of comfort. It was the comfort that she knew that she needed. He was always going to be there for her. It was nice to know and she loved him for it. 

She held him tightly as they stood in the small corridor at the back of the bookstore. Steven didn’t want to let go, if Connie was sick then he wanted to look after her. She was going to be doing a think on his watch. 

After living together for a long time, they had witnessed one another fight through a few sicknesses - mostly a cold or two. They did a pretty good job of looking after one another when they were sick. In fact, Steven liked being the one to look after Connie when she was sick. She was far too ill to fight for her independence, meaning that Steven got to do everything that he wanted to do for her. Connie had always tried to fight it, but sometimes it was nice to have someone there to look after you. 

“How are you feeling?” Steven whispered in her ear, not wanting to let her go as a way to speak to her. 

“I-I’m okay.” Connie didn’t quite know what else to say. Her stomach still churned slightly, but she wasn’t sure that was due to her sickness or the fact that she was even more embarrassed to have gone outside and face everyone. It was going to have been tough. 

“Are you sure? Max has gone to get you water.” Steven spoke in his usual sweet tone, one that Connie appreciated in her time of need.

“It’s just nerves.” Connie admitted, thinking back to the times when she was a teenager where during moments of peak anxiety she had felt sick to her stomach. It was horrible to think that there were certain reactions from your body that were just signals sent from your brain. Evil signals. Anxiety. 

“Is your tour too stressful? We can always go-” Before Steven could even finish his sentence he was cut off. 

“No! I want to be on the tour. I want to be here!” Connie gripped onto his shirt and pulled away slightly so that she could be face to face with him. She didn’t want him to suggest the idea that they were to go home. That wasn’t where she wanted to be. 

The last thing she wanted to do was to not have the opportunity to have promoted her book. People had put too much effort into making sure that she could go on the tour. It would have been a waste. Connie had put far too much effort into writing it! There was no way that she could have thrown it all away. 

“Okay. Okay. It’s just...we can reschedule if you need to.” 

“Steven! I’m fine.” Connie pushed away from his chest, standing her ground in front of him. There was no way that she was going to admit defeat to her mind. It wasn't happening! 

Steven half-smiled as he gripped onto either side of her arms. 

“Well, if you’re sure.” 

“I’m sure.” Connie confirmed, feeling the need to touch the sides of his arms in response. She needed him to know that she was going to be okay.

“Okay, I believe you.” Steven nodded with a smile before leaning forward to head in for a kiss. As he puckered his lips, Connie was quick to push his back with her fingers. 

“You might want to wait for Max to bring me some gum.” Connie chuckled, finally finding some kind of humour in the situation. If she didn’t, she may have broken down in a puddle of tears. There was still so much going through her mind. 

Including how the people at her signing were once again too busy thinking about how much they wanted to be with Steven. How much they continued to remind her that they were there for him - not her. Were they even interested in the book that she had poured so much hard work into? Or were they there for Steven who had a mass amount of self-ascribed status?

She tried her hardest to knock the thoughts away from her mind. It wasn’t Steven’s fault in the slightest that these things were happening to her. Although, she had nobody but Steven to blame. Nobody else to take her anger out on. She needed to make sure that she didn’t do that. 

Steven didn’t deserve any of that. He had spent the whole time being nothing but sweet to her. He had spent their whole relationship being nothing but sweet to her. He always deserved the best from her. 

“Oh, right. Yeah.” Steven laughed at her joke, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to kiss her he made sure to plant a small kiss against her cheek. Connie appreciated his gesture a lot, instantly making her feel better. In a way, it was like he had magic kisses. 

Before Steven could even remove himself from planting the small kiss on her cheek the door behind them opened. Half-expecting it to have been an employee, Steven and Connie removed themselves from one another. Although, as they moved back they were quick to discover that it was Max. 

“Alright. I’m back, I got water and Gatorade! I also got gum, spearmint! The line was super short and there's a small store next door. I would have been quicker, but I pet a dog that they had in there. Its name was Arthur!” Max grinned happily with herself as she held the two drinks with her arm against her chest. She was sure she was overcharged, too busy being distracted by the dog. In and out within seconds. 

It didn’t matter if it was for Connie, though. Max was prepared to look after her best friend if she needed it. 

“Thanks, Max.” Connie smiled, feeling slightly better just by being in the presence of her two favourite human beings. It was nice to know that they were both there to look after her. 

Max quickly passed her over the water as Connie cracked open the lid feeling a little bad that she hadn’t brought a disposable water bottle for her to fill up. It would have been a lot better than the plastic that she was currently using, although in that very moment all she wanted was a drink to wash down the horrible acidic taste inside of her mouth. At the very least, she would try to recycle it. 

“So, I hate to be that person - but there’s a lot of people outside.” Max gritted her teeth together. Unfortunately, she had to think about her work on top of trying to be a good friend. It was hard when there was so much to do. 

Connie took a sip of the water and wiped her eyes once more. She knew that despite how she was feeling that she would have had to go out and face the world again at some point. There was no way that she couldn’t. She had plenty of fans that were waiting for her, despite how embarrassed she would have been to have gone back out and faced them. 

It would have been tough, but she knew that she had to do it. There was no other way. 

“I know. I’ll go back out in a second.” Connie confirmed. 

“I mean, we can always go and keep them entertained if you need a couple of minutes?” Steven offered. It wasn’t as if he meant anything by what he was trying to offer, although Connie felt a little disheartened, a part of her knowing that people probably would have preferred it if Steven was to have been the one to have gone outside - not her. 

“It’s fine! I can go.” Connie assured, she had only been sick, there was no need for them to worry so much about her! She was going to do everything she could to get out in front of everyone as soon as she could. There was no point in waiting around. 

All she was doing was sitting down and signing books. It wasn’t as if she was going to have gotten up on stage and performed. 

Maybe that was the problem. 

She thought for a few moments about everything that was flooding her mind. As much as she didn’t want to be the centre of attention, perhaps it was because she had written a book that was the issue? It wasn’t the case of being able to consume it as well as people would consume a rock show. 

Maybe that was why people preferred getting to know Steven a lot more? 

She took a deep breath. She wasn’t jealous - that was stupid! Why would she have been jealous of something that Steven couldn’t help? It wasn’t his  _ fault _ ! 

Yet, no matter how much she tried to tell herself those exact facts, it wasn’t helping the fact that she was going to have been subjected to something completely different within her mind. There was so much going on that it was hard to concentrate. It was probably the reason why she had made herself sick to her stomach with stress.

“Are you sure?” Steven asked with concern. 

“I’m sure.” 

“Good. I just want to make sure that you’re feeling okay.” Steven gently touched her shoulder as a way of showing that he was still committed to being as close as he could. 

Connie wasn’t feeling well. Not one bit. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t willing to go out into the public eye and make sure that she could be the best at her job as she possibly could be. A little bit of anxiety wasn’t going to stop her from doing her job. 

It was important to Connie that she got through the whole book tour - sickness or not! She was going to have been fine. Even if she didn’t, she would have powered through like a champ. There was no way that she was just going to give up and go home. It wasn’t in her nature and she certainly wasn’t going to give in to her evil thoughts and feelings. 

“I’m okay. Really.” Connie smiled as she reached up and placed her hand on top of Steven’s. 

“I  _ hate  _ to be this person, again, but I kind of have to be a dick. If you’re good to go - want to continue this signing? If not, then we can sit it out a bit longer. It’s fine. Well...not really - but I'll figure something out!” Max waved her hands out in front of her, as much as she wanted to be as professional as possible she was finding it hard when it came to Connie. She would have dropped everything if her best friend was upset. That didn't mean Max wasn't facing her anxieties about doing her job correctly.

That was the problem when you worked with the people that you loved. 

“I can do it.” Connie confirmed. As long as she had a bottle of water by her side to help fight her nausea, she would have been absolutely fine! 

“I don’t doubt for a second you  _ can _ do it, but do you feel okay? I don’t want you puking on one of your lovely fans.” Max wiggled her finger out in front of her with a smile, attempting to get some kind of laughter out of Connie. Max was great at making her feel better whenever she was down. 

“You guys worry too much.” Connie shook her head, incredibly grateful that she had friends like Steven and Max to accompany her on her journey. She wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. 

“You say that like you aren’t the queen of worrying!” Max placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. It was frustrating to know that her friend was denying her inability to stop worrying. Connie worried about everything - all the time! Steven was no better. 

“Come on, let’s finish this signing so we can get some food.” 

“Oh? You’re hungry now?” Max furrowed her eyebrows, completely confused by Connie’s behaviour. 

“Not really, I just thought you guys could probably eat again soon.” Connie shrugged, making sure to think about the people that she cared about. It was important to her that she looked out for them both. 

Steven stared down at his stomach and touched it gently. He could have eaten again - food was great. He glanced over at Max and pouted slightly in agreement. 

“Sure. I can eat.” Steven half-smiled. 

It wasn’t long before Connie Maheswaran was sitting back at the table in front of the line of people who had been particularly shocked by her sudden disappearance. She attempted to push thoughts out of her mind as she watched Steven taking photographs with the people who were partially there to see him. She tried her hardest to keep them out of her line of sight. 

Signing every book was becoming a drag, especially when she wasn’t particularly feeling great in herself. Although, speaking to people was interesting as she loved to hear what they had to say. It was important to Connie to hear their opinions on the parts of the story that they had read. People who had begun reading the story were starting to appear and speak to her. 

She always felt so nice whenever someone mentioned something regarding her book. A lot of the time it just so happened to have given her a warm fluffy feeling inside. It was nice to have people who were willing to ask her questions and see what she wanted to do in the future. Connie found it interesting to think about the things that she was being asked - some of them she was completely unsure on how to answer. 

She liked to think that as the tour went on and she became more skilled in answering the questions that she would have been able to give people a little more in terms of substance with her words. 

Steven sat beside her, in a somewhat protective stance as he watched carefully over everything that Connie did. She knew that it was because she had been sick, he couldn’t seem to have helped himself. All he ever wanted to do when she was sick was to make sure that she was okay. She looked exhausted, he wanted nothing more than for her to go back to the hotel room and relax.

Connie passed a book back to a fan and smiled, suddenly feeling the touch of Steven’s hand on the bottom of her back. As much as she appreciated the touch, she couldn’t help but feel as if Steven was being a lot more watchful of her than usual. 

“Are you okay?” Connie turned around to look at his hand on her lower back as he sat beside her with his chin resting on his other hand that was leaning on the edge of the table.

“How are you feeling?” Steven was quick to ask, making sure that his intentions were exact. 

“Good...are you okay?” Connie repeated, a little unsure why Steven had suddenly become so touchy. 

“I’m just worried about you.” Steven pouted slightly, taking her by surprise. They were still sitting at the table, ready to sign a book for whoever was going to be next. There was currently nobody waiting in the line and it was nearly the end of the event. 

“Why? Because I was sick?” Connie snorted, the way that Steven worried about her was adorable. 

“Yeah...I don’t like it when you’re sick.” 

“Me neither. It’s...gross.”

“We can always take a break if you’re not feeling good!” 

“Steven, I’m fine! I’m just getting worked up over the little things. I feel a lot better now.” Connie felt herself lie. As much as she felt better than she had done before she had vomited, now she had this sunken feeling inside of her stomach. Nausea that wouldn’t go away. 

“Are you sure?” Steven’s expression dropped, continuing to push. 

“I’m sure! You don’t need to worry about me.” Connie reached out to grab his arm, gently pushing it away from her back so that she could touch his hand. He happily accepted the gesture. 

“I’m always going to worry about you. You’re on my mind all the time!” Steven gave her a form of puppy-dog eyes as he tried to get her to understand how he felt. He was desperate to know that she was feeling fine, despite already asking the question several times. 

Connie adored how much he cared about her. It was nice to have people in her life that were willing to have done just about anything to have made sure that she was comfortable. It was something that she found herself being grateful for every single day. It was something that she didn’t find she had much of when she was younger and it was nice to have that now that she was older. 

“It’s fine. I'm fine. I promise.” Connie held onto his hand, continuing to lie through her teeth about the way that she was feeling. She felt sick to the stomach, but that wasn’t something that she would have been able to share with Steven. He probably would have forced her to have stopped the signing - maybe even the tour! 

“Are you sure?”

“Steven…”

“Really?”

“Really.” Connie confirmed, hoping that this time Steven heard what she had to say. She didn’t want him to feel sorry for her in any way. It wouldn’t have been fair to put that pressure on him. 

“Well, if you say so.” Steven shrugged slightly with a small smile. He knew that he didn’t quite believe Connie as she spoke, but pushing her further would have only served to have irritated her. 

He continued to hold onto her hand, giving her a sympathetic smile. He would have done anything to have taken her back home and tucked her up in their bed. The very least he could have done was to have held her hand gently. 

Luckily, the number of people who had books left to sign wasn’t the greatest amount. It felt as if they weren’t there for much longer after Connie had found herself being sick. In a way, that was a good thing. It was nice for it not to have dragged out considering how both embarrassed and sick she was feeling. Something was unsettling about her sudden sickness, one that hadn’t come to her since she was in high school. 

Anxiety was a killer and she knew it, but everyone reacted in different ways. The fight or flight response was one that never made any sense. 

“We should probably go and get some rest. Make sure that you’re feeling better for tomorrow!” Steven tried his hardest to push Connie into looking after herself. A gentle push that she knew was coming from a caring place, but one that made her feel slightly inept. Over and over, he refused to stop bugging her on the subject. 

Connie wanted to deny his care, but she knew that she couldn't do such a thing. Steven would have always been overly caring for her no matter how she was feeling, it wasn't so much a bad thing but could occasionally be suffocating. 

"Yeah, dude - we've got flights galore  _ and _ we're going to your favourite place!" Max grinned as she tapped her hands against the table. 

"My favourite place?" Connie squinted slightly. She had memorised the tour off by heart, it was surprising that she was unaware of what was happening next. Her mind was scrambled. 

"Y'know...you wrote a whole segment about it inside of your book. This book?" Max suddenly held up a copy and pointed to the cover. 

"That could be-"

"Austin!" Steven cheered happily, remembering all of the nice things that happened to the couple whilst they were there. It was a staple location of their relationship and Connie had written a lot about her feelings whilst she was there inside of the book. 

Being in Austin with Steven had been an entirely new experience for her, one that she would have never forgotten. From the pretty street art that covered a lot of the buildings to the convenience store that they had visited late at night. Austin was everything that she wanted out of the trip and more. 

It cemented a point in their relationship where they realised that they were starting to become a little more than acquaintances. It was a little too early in their journey to say that was the place where they had fallen in love, but it certainly was the place when they had started to consider it as an option. One that they would have remembered forever. 

Connie smiled, remembering the time that they shared in the city. Texas took a long time for them to have travelled through, so it would have been refreshing to have taken a flight. Her anxiety slowly depleted at pleasant thoughts. 

"Oh yeah, Austin was...amazing." Connie sighed as she thought back to the time that she had spent with Steven a couple of years ago. She knew it would have been nice for them to have spent some more time there. A location that she had in mind for an anniversary. It would have been nice. 

"We'll be there again tomorrow!" Steven grinned, a master plan devising within his mind. 

If he was going to make some kind of proposal - it had to be in a place that was important to them both. Austin was important! Steven would have loved to have made his move. 

"Well, if you two want some kind of romantic getaway tomorrow when we're there I'm happy to dip and find something else to do. There's always stuff on Netflix to watch." Max clicked her fingers, more than happy to have given the couple their space. She always spent a lot of time with them and she was acutely aware that they didn't want her around at all times throughout the day. Although, she was a rather entertaining third wheel. 

"We're not going to leave you!" Connie argued, making sure that Max didn't feel left out. 

"I'm offering! Go and drown yourself in romance or whatever it is you weirdos do." Max laughed, never wanting to be a part of a relationship where she would have to commit something other than the occasional playlist. 

Steven's heart skipped at the idea. If he got to spend a lot of the day with Connie alone then he could have made his move and everything would have been as perfect as he had planned in his mind! Everything was just right. 

Perfect. 

"It would be nice to do something, like...a date night!" Steven suggested, trying to steer the conversation his way so that he could follow through with his plan.

"Our  _ date nights _ are usually just us eating cake on the couch and watching a movie." Connie chuckled, as much as they enjoyed going out and spoiling one another, it was just as nice to spend the evening in one another's company. That was the most important part. 

"So...wouldn't it be nice to do something different?" Steven nudged her with his shoulder. "As long as you feel okay." 

"I'll be fine." Connie continued to insist before falling back onto his previous statement. “And doing something together would be sweet.” She smiled as she touched his arm lovingly. Despite her not feeling too great, she would have been more than willing to spend some time with Steven. 

“If that’s the case, I’m going to start Boogling lit things to do in Austin solo. If nothing remotely interesting pops up then I’ll stick with the Netflix plan.” Max nodded as she pulled out her phone and began to search the internet for results. 

“Cool! I mean, it doesn’t have to be anything special. We could just...do what we did last time?” Steven shrugged, they had never been the kind of couple to have gone out on fancy dates to fancy restaurants with one another. If anything, they would have cooked for each other - mostly cooking together. 

“Exactly?” Connie snorted at the gesture. Doing everything that they had done the last time they had been in the city? That sounded like...fun? 

Steven thought that it sounded romantic. 

“Yeah! We could retrace the same steps that we made when we had first met. Wouldn’t that be fun?” Steven had a glimmer of hope in his eyes, desperate for Connie to have accepted his plan. It would have been the most romantic way for him to have spent their time together before he got down on one knee and asked the question. 

“That would be pretty fun.” Connie sighed with a smile spread across her face. As much as she wanted to have continued to entertain Steven’s ideas for the next day, she was very much more concentrated on going back to the hotel and sleeping off whatever nerves she had. 

Although, she knew that the nerves she was experiencing were going to have been there the next day and potentially the next. She internally wished that even if she did have the anxiety that she wouldn’t have to combat the sickness that she was facing. The last thing she wanted was for her stomach and trepidation to ruin the tour. 

“Sounds like a plan!” 

“Sounds  _ boring _ .” Max groaned as she placed her hand against her cheek as she flicked through her phone. 

“Sounds pretty fun to me.” Steven added. 

“Sounds romantic? I don’t know, man. I’m not a part of this. Just have fun on your walk or whatever it was you did. I’m a little concerned that the book doesn’t tell the whole story on that one.” Max pointed back towards the book that was in the middle of the table. 

“Oh, everything I speak about in Austin is pretty accurate. We did everything that’s in the book there.” Connie nodded with pride, happy to have written something that accurately depicted the time that they had spent together. 

“Really? You ate ice cream with your fingers?” Max squinted over at them both with disgust. 

“Uh...yeah?” Steven chewed his bottom lip as he responded, feeling a little embarrassed that his time without a spoon was documented for the world to have seen - even some of the cheesy lines and jokes that he had made that night. He had accepted for it to have appeared on the book, it was on him. 

“What flavour?” Max pressed further. 

“Cookie dough.”

“Oh, completely acceptable. Any other flavour with your hands is just... _ yuck _ ! I’m glad you’re both people of fine ice cream taste.” Max grinned, incredibly happy with the results. 

“Thanks, we try our best!” Steven grinned widely as he nudged Connie once more, forcing her to smile along with him. 

As much as the three of them wanted to go and eat some fancy food somewhere in the state, they ended up deciding on eating within the hotel they were staying in. There wasn’t much to it, but it was enough for them to have gotten dinner and potentially even breakfast the morning after. 

Connie was a little sceptical to have eaten after she had been sick, feeling guilty over the fact she had vomited after Steven had requested to have taken a photograph with one of his fans. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t spoken to Steven about it, it was something that they had a conversation about to make sure they were on the same page. 

That didn’t stop her from feeling the way that she felt over the situation. 

There was so much that she wanted to have shouted out about it. It all felt like a little too much at the best of times - especially that afternoon. She knew that Steven would have understood if she had explained herself once again, but there was no need to have done so after spending so much time doing so. 

It wasn’t Steven’s fault that she was caught up in her head. 

Caught up in the idea that once again she would never have been good enough for anyone - not even the strangers that would have eventually read the book. The strangers that got a sneak peek into what it was like to have lived her life. 

Despite all of her anxiety sinking into her without a second thought, she had gone to bed that night thinking of the kind of day that she would have when in Austin. Taking her mind off things would have been the best for it, especially if she worked it around the signings. 

Signing books was just her job now and better yet - she had her two best friends beside her the whole time. There was no need for her to panic the way that she had been. There was no need for her to be nervous! 

Connie managed to snuggle up to Steven that night and fall asleep without feeling too nervous about the next day. There wasn’t much other than her book that she could have thought about, but distracting herself with Steven was going to have been the only thing that she could have done. 

Steven, on the other hand, was feeling a mixture of just about everything from nerves to happiness.

Tomorrow he was planning to propose to the love of his life!

It was going to be great!


	5. Austin, TX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven wants to spend a romantic day with the love of his life in Austin. Connie would like the same thing...but she's got other things on her mind to contend with.

Romance was something that Steven valued a lot in their relationship. It was something that he loved, just as much as he loved Connie. Being with Connie was the best opportunity for him to show his romantic side. 

He was the kind of boyfriend who never really conformed to particular dates such as Valentines the same way that others would. Sure, as someone who loved to love he was inclined to have treated her on the day that others  _ also  _ treated their significant others - but Steven liked to make sure that he treated Connie as a surprise any time of the year. 

What was so romantic about being romantic on a day that was commercial and because someone had told him to? Romance was about being spontaneous. Romance was about cooking Connie nice dinners, bringing her flowers, doing the dishes so she didn’t have to, letting her wear his clothes for comfort and warmth and remembering to kiss her in some way every time that he returned home or vice versa. 

Steven was a romantic in many ways and asking Connie to marry him would have been the  _ most _ romantic thing he had ever done...which is why it needed to have been  _ perfect _ . 

Austin was going to have an ideal opportunity for Steven to have gotten down on one knee and made his proposal. It was the best place for it and he knew it! 

Looking back on their time in Austin, it had been the first time that they had really hung out with one another on the first tour when they had met. It was the perfect time for them to have figured more out about each other and have the opportunity to have bonded. 

There was no better place for Steven to have proposed! 

The plan inside of his mind was to have taken her to all of the locations that they visited with one another in Austin, ending up at the cafe with the famous words painted on the outside. 

_ ‘I love you so much.’ _

It was going to have been great and Steven was sure that he was going to have been able to pull it off. 

He knew that throughout the day they would have to go to the signing, but being at the signing wouldn’t have taken them into the evening. It would have been nice to have a meal at the same place that they had eaten when they were last there. Hopefully, it would have jogged her memory as to how much of a lovely night they had together. 

At least, that was what Steven thought of when he thought of Austin. He really hoped that she thought the same. 

“Remember the last time we were here? I don’t.” Max laughed as they sat in the back of the Toober on the way to the hotel to drop off their bags before the signing. The only things that she remembered about their day in Austin were the things that she had read in Connie’s book. Even then, they had been in Connie’s perspective and not Max's. 

“You were drunk out of your mind with Jenny - remember?” Connie furrowed her eyebrows as she looked over at her friend on the opposite side of the car. Steven was sitting awkwardly in the middle of them both. 

“I don’t remember. That’s the point.” Max pushed her index fingers into her forehead and groaned. She hadn’t remembered anything about that night aside from going back to the hotel room and a video on TubeTube of a cat meowing underwater.

What a strange night. It was probably the same night that she had internally promised herself that she would never return to the city and yet decided that it would have been a good place for Connie to have attended a signing. Everything was backwards. 

“I remember Austin.” Steven smiled happily, immediately changing the tone as he tried his hardest to lighten the mood and remove it from drunken memories. At least when he had been in Austin he could remember all of the things that happened there. 

He remembered everything from Connie’s rant about her college to sitting on the bench by the hotel and eating ice cream together. Connie didn’t exactly enjoy the idea of him eating it with his fingers, but that was the only tool that they had! She couldn’t have found it completely gross...considering she had fallen in love with him not long afterwards.

Of course Steven remembered Austin. Connie remembered it vividly too.

“I remember Austin too.” Connie reached over and placed her hand on top of Steven’s knee where he was quick to join her by putting his palm on top. He smiled over at Connie.

“This isn’t another place where you both hooked up, was it? I don’t remember reading that part in the book and you say it was accurate - but I’m not convinced.” Max groaned, after hearing a lot of the stories it wouldn’t have surprised her if it was just another city that the couple had gotten together in. 

“Nope. Not Austin!” Steven smirked, happy to know that their time in Austin was enough to have won her over by the time that they had gotten to L.A.. 

“You ate ice cream from your hands that night!” Connie laughed, thinking back to the memory. They had been speaking about it just the day before but were eager to bring it up again. 

“We didn’t have any spoons!” Admittedly, Steven was a little embarrassed by the memory. It didn’t seem to have mattered though, Connie was head over heels for him regardless of how he chose to eat his ice cream.

“Are these all euphemisms?” Max shook her head in disgust at the thought. Why did she have to be cursed as the third wheel that had to put up with all of their romantic shit? It wasn’t fair. 

“Uh...not in Austin they’re not.” Steven shook his head, not wanting Max to get the wrong idea. She already had plenty of ideas as to what happened between them both when the rest of the band had disappeared. It was pretty easy to figure out that whatever was going on between them both, it probably wasn’t family-friendly. 

“That’s it, I’m going to put my headphones in. I can’t listen to this.” Max grumbled as she grabbed her phone and began to untangle her earphones. 

Steven looked over at Connie and shrugged, receiving a small bout of laughter and a smile from his favourite person in the whole wide world. He wanted her to know how much being in Austin had meant to him the first time around. For her to know how beautiful the city was with her inside of it. He wanted to relive those memories every single day. 

“Austin was...a really great day.” Steven smiled as he looked over at Connie, making sure to hold her hand as he spoke. 

“It was…” Connie looked over at him with yet another smile. She was unsure as to what he was trying to hint at, but being close to him in the back of the Toober only reminded her of the nights that they had spent together - such as their time in L.A.. 

“Are you still up to visit some of the places that we went to when we first met?” Steven suggested, hoping that his comment wouldn’t have come across as offhanded and then immediately ignored. 

“You really want to do that? You’re talking about the writing on the wall, aren’t you?” 

“Yeah! Wouldn’t it be fun?” Steven shrugged, hoping that his suggestion was enough to win her over. It would have been nice to have gotten some kind of answer regarding it. He needed to plan inside of his mind what he was going to do. 

He was going to propose! 

“It would be really fun...I just don’t know if we’re going to have enough time.” Connie turned away and looked out of the window with a sad expression. As much as she wanted to spend the day walking around Austin with Steven in the same way they did when they had first met - Connie had to work. She had to attend the book signing. 

She had been excited to have spent a day in Austin with Steven, but didn’t quite notice when the flights were in comparison with the signing. They would have finished with the signing in the late afternoon and it was already late morning as they headed to the hotel. By the time that they had gotten all of their things in order, they would have to make their way to a bookstore. If they did anything - it would have had to have been later in the evening. 

Steven was going to make time if it meant that she got to go out with him to the places that had helped him fall in love. Who was he kidding? He was already totally in love by that point, Austin was just the thing that cemented it. He always hoped that during that night they spent together it wasn’t completely obvious how much he had fallen head over heels for her. 

It was pretty hard considering all of the acts he did that night to show it. They had held hands. Kissed. Got ice cream together. It was as if they were already dating by that point. 

Steven knew by now that Connie’s mission was that she had been sent to hang out with him to make sure that Max and Jenny could become the best of friends. It was a weird one...but Steven wasn’t going to complain. It only meant that he got to have one of the best evenings of his entire life. 

“We’ll have time! We’re just going to have to go after you’re finished at the event.” Steven tried his hardest to make sure that his plan would have gone smoothly. He was going to have made sure that Connie had a fantastic day, regardless of what was happening around them. 

Connie knew that would have been the most suitable time and was more than willing to comply with the idea that Steven was holding onto. He seemed more than excited to have been able to spend a day with her, she wasn’t willing to crush that for him. She wanted to spend the day with him too! 

“I’m sure it’ll all be fine.” Connie confirmed, happy to have given some kind of positivity in the back of the car. She always felt as if it had become her job to lower the tone. Nobody would have wanted that, but it was like she couldn’t seem to help it. 

Sometimes, things were just a little too much for everyone around. 

There wasn’t much time between them being stuck inside of the Toober to settling into the next hotel room that they had been booked into. Most of the hotels were relatively similar to one another and living out of them had become a common thing for them both. Steven was happy with the upgrade, it had been a while since he had couch surfed with strangers with the band. 

Connie didn’t mind sleeping wherever, but the luxury of the hotels that they stayed in was certainly appreciated. It was something that she hadn’t expected to have gotten the whole time she was on the tour but was thankful for Greg’s hospitality nonetheless. 

It was weird to think about how much money was truly in Steven’s name after his mother’s passing. Steven knew that he needed to have done something with the money, never wanting to keep it for himself. There had been a year-long debate on what they should have done with the money and the only conclusion Steven had drawn was a distribution of wealth amongst local causes and other charities. A lump sum of money was pumped into different charities every week - Steven made sure he saw none of it. 

The only money he had was the money he earned with his father in the studio and whatever he got from being inside of the band. Everything else was completely void. There was no way he was ever going to use any of the money that came in from the constant replays of his mother’s songs for his own personal gain. Steven was too humble for that. 

“So, we’ve got an hour or so before we have to go anywhere - what do you want to do?” Steven asked as he placed the suitcase down on the opposite side of the room before staring out of the window of the hotel at the river that flowed through the city. Surprisingly, they had ended up in the same hotel that the band had stayed in the last time that they had stayed there. 

“I thought you had all of the romantic stuff planned out?” Connie chuckled as she placed her backpack down on the bed and dug around for her phone charger. 

“We can do a bunch of stuff later! I was thinking maybe we could go for dinner someplace nice?” Steven made the suggestion as he turned around and shrugged off his jacket, revealing the pink flannel shirt he had opted to wear that day. 

“Dinner? Where were you thinking?” Connie was intrigued to know more about this plan that Steven had in the back of his mind. The plan that he wasn’t going to have completely revealed just yet. 

“It doesn’t have to be anywhere fancy, just  _ nice _ .” Steven shrugged, not wanting to put any unneeded pressure on her. He was originally going to stick to the idea of going to the pizza place that they had been on whilst on tour, but he was certain that she was sick of pizza, to say the least. It would have been interesting to go somewhere different. 

“Somewhere with tablecloths?” 

“Exactly! Just somewhere that I can spend most of the time concentrating on you more than what I’m eating. Maybe there should be candles!” Steven made the throwaway comment before glancing up at the ceiling and pondering on his thought.

Connie noticed the comment, causing her to blush slightly at his words. It was always nice when he tried flirting with her. No matter how long they had been together, it always felt sweet to hear him say the words. 

“Oh, really?” Connie snorted. 

“Yeah! Candles and flowers and  _ you _ .” Steven smirked from the opposite side of the bed as he watched her plug the charger into the outlet on the wall before charging up her phone. 

Connie looked down, trying her hardest to hide her shy smile. One that he had seen time and time again. One that he never got sick of. Connie would have never gotten used to the comments that made her swoon. She gently fixed her hair before looking back up at him from the other side of the bed. 

“I bet you’re glad that I skipped out on adding all of the cheesy quotes you’ve ever said to me from the book.” Connie snorted. Steven had said a lot of dorky things to her over the years, but some of them were incredibly memorable. She had managed to skip out on a lot of them when writing. 

“No, but you didn’t skip out on the adorably cheesy things that you said!” Steven countered. 

“What? I never had anything cheesy in there!” 

“Uh...yeah you did!”

“Where?” 

“Well, all of my favourite bits were cheesy. Actually, maybe I wouldn’t call them that. They were just...cute.” Steven pointed towards her with a smile, all of the best bits in the book that he enjoyed were the moments where she spoke about how much she loved him. Steven found it adorable and had even cried when he had read the first draft with the contents. He hadn't read the updated version after spending time with her editors the whole way through. 

“Oh yeah? What are your favourite parts?” 

“All of it.” 

“Steven!” Connie extended her word with a groan, desperate to know what his favourite parts were. Sure, he had already been good over it in the past - but it felt as if his favourite part changed every week. 

“Uhhh...let me see!” Steven nodded before spinning on his heel and heading back over to the suitcase that was filled with the books. He tilted it over on its side before unzipping the bag and pulling out one of the books. 

Connie watched as he flicked through the pages trying to find the part in the story that made him feel a particular way. Loved. 

Connie shuffled onto the bed, the only place inside of the hotel room that they could have sat down. She pushed her bag onto the floor and made herself comfortable as Steven crawled onto the sheets as he continued to flick through the pages. There was so much content in the book that he loved, it was hard to have picked his favourite part. 

“I’m sure I remember the page number…” Steven mumbled to himself as he flicked through, desperate to find the part of the story that had melted his heart with happiness. 

“Do you need a hand?” 

“N-no, I got it.” Steven readjusted himself on the bed, practically sitting cross-legged beside Connie. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Found it!” Steven cleared his throat. 

“Oh, you’re going to read it to me?” Connie chuckled at the gesture. 

“Yeah! I want you to hear how sweet it is.” Steven smirked, feeling more than pleased with the words that Connie had used to describe him. 

“Okay, go on then.” Connie encouraged, a little embarrassed to have heard her own work coming from someone else. 

Steven shuffled about before clearing his throat again. He wanted to make sure that he was prepared before he read the excerpt that had made his heart skip a beat. The excerpt which, at the time, had caused him to have dropped the book and gone into the other room to be with the love of his life. 

“ _ As we sat out in the cool of the night’s breeze, I welcomed the warmth of his fingers intertwined between mine. Before this point, I had no concept of love. No concept of what it felt like to feel that way around another human being. A connection that was unmatched by anything or anyone. I realised that the time that I spent away from him throughout the tour was mostly just me questioning when I would have seen him again. When we would have been together again. I was waiting for the next time I would have been able to see him smile, laugh or even give me a longing stare. I had no idea what he was thinking about in those moments, but I could have only guessed he was thinking about me in the same way I was thinking about him. I wanted to say the words to him. The ones that would have cemented a connection, but I knew that even without those exact words they were still ping-ponging around our minds. I felt as if I knew it early on, but it was during that moment that I realised I had fallen in love with Steven Universe. Although, it wasn’t in the same way that other people usually loved Steven Universe. No. This was different. This was the kind of love where I could no longer think of a future without Steven in it. Even back then, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I had fallen deeply in love with Steven Universe and there was nobody that could change my mind. _ ” Steven read the excerpt with a smile on his face the entire time, Connie contently listening to the words that she had previously written. Nothing that she had mentioned had changed. She still loved him beyond comparison. 

“That’s your favourite?” 

“One of them.” Steven gently closed the book as he stared over at Connie, unable to take himself away from her eyes. Just as the excerpt had described, he always found himself getting lost within Connie. There was something about her that lost him. The love he held for her was everything. 

“Imagine if I’d said that to you during the first tour.” Connie chuckled at the thought. The amount of time that they had spent together on the first tour was a lot. They were convinced that it was both enough time for them to have fallen in love. Although, Steven would have argued it was love at first sight. 

Things had been different that night. On tours, Steven used to spend a lot of his time searching for companionship, so when he had gone to the bar that night of the first show and met Connie he was admittedly expecting a lot less than a relationship. He usually would have flirted his way through the tour, but the night he had met Connie she was the only person that he could think about. He just wanted to see her again and again. Nobody else. 

He knew that she was different. The person he had been searching for the whole time. 

“I would have imploded.” Steven sighed with a smile, feeling incredibly in love as he looked ahead and found himself lost within Connie’s mind. 

“We did wait a while before we said anything…” 

“I knew I loved you...I was just scared about saying it.” Steven admitted with a small chuckle. 

“I know you loved me and waiting to hear it was fine.” Connie reached out both of her hands and allowed him to grip onto them, Steven immediately brought the top of her hand to his mouth and kissed her. She couldn’t help but blush at the gesture. 

“I’m not scared to say it anymore.” Steven grinned. 

“I love hearing it.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” 

“I love you three.” 

“Steven…”

“Okay, okay, but I do love you. Lots.” Steven kissed her hand once more. 

“I love you lots too.” 

The couple sat in silence for a moment as they recollected their thoughts of their love for one another. The love that they shared every day. The love that couldn’t have been crushed by anything. The love that kept them together. 

Steven chewed the bottom of his lip as he considered what his next move would have been. 

“So...we have enough time before the signing to make out - right?” Steven dipped his eyebrows with concern, desperate for her kisses. 

“I’m sure we have a little time…” Connie tried her hardest not to laugh at his comment. 

“Well, in that case-” Steven shuffled forward to be closer to Connie, softly placing his lips on hers. 

Connie allowed him to lead the kiss as he pushed her back on the bed, forcing her to lie down as she brought her hands to his shoulders. He held himself above her as he continued to kiss her passionately, feeling so much love radiating through him. He wanted to be as close to her as possible. 

Steven gently pushed his hand up the hem of her t-shirt, feeling the need to make a connection that they hadn’t made with one another for a while. Life had been so busy that they hadn’t even had sex with each other since they were back on tour quite a few weeks ago. 

Connie quickly grabbed his wrist and removed her lips from his. 

“Hey, I thought we were just making out!” Connie laughed, not quite expecting his hand to have made its way up to her chest. 

“Sorry. I thought-”

“Let’s just-” Before Connie could finish her sentence she had been the one to crash her lips back against Steven. 

Steven felt a little sad over the idea that Connie may not have wanted to have sex with him anymore. Admittedly, he would have been okay with that if that’s what she had communicated. He was just pleased to have been with him, regardless. Although, considering the amount of time they had gone without being intimate with one another he was starting to question himself. 

Connie didn’t mean for it to have been that way, but she certainly wasn’t going to have used Steven as a stress-reliever. They both knew what happened when they tried to fix things with sex. It wouldn’t have worked. 

Connie always wanted her time spent with Steven to have been loving, which it was. The only thing that would have said differently was the fact that when she did want it to be loving she wanted them both to know it. For them to have both been lost in that moment. 

She certainly didn’t mind the way that he was showering her with kisses. 

They managed to make out for quite a while before deciding that it was finally time that they went to get Max and find the bookstore that they needed to be in. Signing and doing the events was starting to become the repeat of every single day. 

The only thing that was different was the people that surrounded her. She couldn’t wait until later on in the tour when they had signed up for interviews or photoshoots with other people. It would have been a nice change of pace from visiting all of the bookstores.

Connie had been reading on a lot of the planes that they had been travelling on and she tried her hardest to pick the next book she wanted to read up from the bookstore that they were in during that day before leaving it in the airport for someone else to have enjoyed. It was the best place for it. Max was usually the one to pick what book she was going to read next. For the most part, how she picked was at random. 

Once again, being inside of the bookstore had given Connie a sickening feeling in her stomach. One that refused to have left her throughout the entire time that she was signing the books. One that she couldn’t get rid of no matter how much she tried. 

Steven and Max sat on either side of her the same way as they had done in every store that they had visited. Either way, it didn’t seem to have helped her nerves. She was still incredibly nauseous whenever she was there. 

Although, a benefit to this was that whilst signing books in Austin she hadn’t vomited. Unlike the day before. It was a good sign that she perhaps wasn’t as nervous as the day before, or perhaps it was just the idea that she was better at holding it in this time as people came and asked Steven about his career.

She had to learn to suck it up and move on within her mind. 

It was a lot easier said than done. 

After the signing, Max had decided that she was going to have left the couple to go and do her own thing. Which meant that she was more than likely going to seek out some sort of club before finding a new friend for the evening. It wouldn’t have been much, but it would have kept her entertained for a few hours. 

That, or she would have searched for a local band in the area doing a concert and made her way there without fail. It would have better likely to have been the latter. That way she would have been able to go to a concert, make new friends and also discover new music. She always went in saying that, before then standing off to the side and keeping to herself. 

Steven had decided on taking Connie out for dinner before they started their tour of Austin. As much as he wanted to take her somewhere nice, it was likely that a lot of the fancy places in the area had already been booked up. He was willing to go for something that was slightly below the  _ fancy  _ mark - as long as Connie was happy with whatever they decided. 

Tablecloths. Anything with tablecloths would have been the best option. 

He wanted the night to have been all about Connie. Treating her with the utmost importance as he did every single night - this time was just with a little more encouragement. He wanted to do nothing more than spoil her before he decided on getting down on one knee. 

“So...this is  _ fancy _ .” Connie glanced over the menu. It wasn’t as fancy as the restaurant that her parents had taken them to before they had left for the tour. At least in the restaurant that Steven had picked he was able to translate everything that was on the menu. 

_ Translate  _ was the wrong word, considering everything was already in English. 

“Hey, I just picked somewhere with tablecloths and a menu that I knew how to read.” Steven smiled as he practically hid behind the large laminated menu. 

“That sounds pretty fancy to me. Hey look, there’s even a candle!” Connie pointed to the middle of the table at the candle, knowing that internally Steven was fighting a battle with himself about wanting to blow it out. 

He was most definitely going to have done that at the end. There was no question about it. 

“See, I can be fancy!” 

“I know! I’ve seen you in a tie on multiple occasions now.” Connie winked, hiding her smile behind the menu just as he had done. 

“Y’know what would be really cool? A  _ bowtie _ .” Steven nodded, thinking about all of the occasions in which he could dress up. Bowties were cool and he would have loved to have tried one out at some point. He knew that he would have looked great in one, unlike the ties that he struggled to knot. He should have taken Buck's advice in regards to a clip-on. 

“You would look really good.” Connie complimented as she glanced down at the menu, trying to figure out what it was she wanted to eat when her stomach was still causing her grief. 

She had finished the signing. Why was she so anxious about being on a date with Steven? Her mind and the logic behind her reasoning was driving her insane. She was fighting an internal battle no matter the time of day. 

“I’ll make sure to wear one next time!” Steven assured, unsure when the next time they would need formal wear would have been. They hadn’t even brought anything overly fancy with them. 

Picking what they wanted to eat at the restaurant had been the hardest part. Spending a lot of the time staring at one another from the opposite side of the table. They spent most of the evening with their legs wrapped around one another under the table and holding at least one of their hands. It was hard to deny the amount of love that they continued to show.

Despite the lovely evening that they were having, there was so much going on in the back of Connie’s mind that she was finding it hard to concentrate on the conversations that she was having with Steven. Admittedly, Steven had noticed the disconnect from their back and forths and was beginning to become increasingly worried about her. 

It wasn’t noticeable to the point where he could have mentioned something, but he knew that something was up. It was easy enough for her to have kept it under wraps as stress from the tour. There had been such little faith in the way that she had done things through the signings that she continued to sit in the restaurant with dread at the pit of her stomach. 

After the meals had been brought out onto the table, Connie began to eat hers with little bites. She had been feeling incredibly nauseous the whole day - once again. It was no surprise that she was struggling to eat the meal. Although, she was very much against the idea of disappointing Steven and forced herself to eat it anyway. Maybe she was just hungry? 

Not at all. 

“Sorry, I’m just going to go to the bathroom.” Connie smiled as she pointed over to the opposite side of the restaurant. If she had waited around any longer then she probably would have found herself sick at the dining table. That would have been a disaster that she wasn't going to wait around for. 

“Everything okay?” Steven looked up with concern as she got out of the chair, he sat there was both his knife and fork in either hand feeling a little guilty for asking how she was. 

“Y-yeah, everything’s fine! I just need the bathroom, I’ll be back!” Connie moved forward and stroked the top of his hand to provide him with some kind of comfort as she spun on her heel and beelined for the bathroom. 

Connie hated being sick, but that was just what her body wanted her to do. The nerves had gotten to her a little too much when it came to signing all of the books and...being with Steven? She had never been nervous around Steven before. Her body was an enigma and the anxiety that came with it served for nothing other than to plague her existence. 

Connie was pleased to see that there was nobody else in the bathroom, allowing her to tumble into one of the cubicles and vomit without anyone else hearing her discomfort. Whatever illness that had caused her all of this grief was a bastard and she was frustrated with its inability to leave her alone. 

It wasn’t long before she stumbled out of the cubicle and made her way over to the sink where she washed her face off with cold water. She didn’t quite know if it would have helped in any respect, but the cold did aid in refreshing her. She knew she had to be in the right frame of mind before she went back out and met with Steven. He would have continued to have probed her for answers on how she was feeling. 

She took a deep breath and brushed off her clothes. If her anxiety was going to have made her vomit and be incredibly nervous all of the time, then so be it. She wasn’t going to let that ruin her nice evening out with Steven. They were having such a lovely time! 

“Are you sure that you’re okay?” Steven furrowed his eyebrows as she returned to the table, refusing to have touched anything on his plate until she returned. 

“I’m okay, really!” Connie lied through her teeth. She didn’t want to let Steven worry about how she was feeling. Everything was just as she had expected it, the last thing she wanted to do was to make him panic about her. 

“Well, if you’re sure you’re okay…” Steven was a little sceptical that she was telling the truth, but he wasn’t willing to continue to push her for answers. 

“Better now that we’re together.” Connie smirked as she held out her hand across the table as she sat down, Steven gently threading his fingers through hers. 

“Agreed.” Steven grinned happily, pleased that Connie had returned from the bathroom unscathed. Unfortunately, the anxiety of her just leaving still ran through his mind. He hated himself for it. 

After finishing up with the meal that they had together, it was time for them to go on the small tour that Steven had been awaiting. A nice dinner and the opportunity for him to have proposed as they walked the same steps they had made a few years ago when they were together. 

They walked hand in hand down the strip where they had made their way to the convenience store from the hotel that they were staying in. With the streetlights shining brightly down on the sidewalk the couple walked with one another, Steven with a huge smile spread across his face. He was so excited and giddy to have spent his entire day with Connie. 

“I can’t believe how long it’s been since we were last here.” Connie commented as she attempted to take her mind off the meal that she had struggled to eat after being sick. It certainly hadn’t helped the cause. She was with Steven alone now, she needed to get her nerves in check. 

“A long time! I loved that night though. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” Steven admitted with a slight blush. He had spoken about the night plenty of times before, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t make him feel good inside. He had so much love for the time that they spent together when they first met. 

“We thought about each other a lot on that tour.” Connie countered. 

“Well, did you think that we would be together this long?”

“I didn’t think we would be together at all.”

“What?” Steven’s expression dropped. 

“Oh! It’s more...I didn’t think those kinds of romances lasted past things like a tour. I thought that tour would have been over and then that was it. I know you thought the same!” Connie poked him in the stomach gently to try and get him to squirm at her touch. 

“A little bit, but that was only because I’d never been in a relationship with anyone before. Especially not anyone  _ past _ whatever I had on tour. Which...was never much. Never like this.” Steven tried not to think about all of his failed attempts at his pursuits to find love. He was so grateful for Connie. 

“I always find it so hard to believe that nobody would want to love Steven Universe.” Connie raised his hand to her lips and kissed him. 

“People did love Steven Universe. It was Steven DeMayo that they didn’t love.” Steven looked down with a sad expression, watching his red Vans as he walked. 

“I’ll have you know that I love both Steven Universe and Steven DeMayo. They’re both two of the most amazing people that I have ever met!” Connie complimented with a big smile, keeping a firm grip on his hand. 

Steven smiled shyly, feeling overly loved in the presence of the person that he too loved beyond comparison to anything or anyone. There was no way that anything could have changed his mind. He loved her too much. 

“I like this place - lots.” Steven sighed as he looked around at the street they were in. There wasn’t much to it other than independent shops, street art and cafes. Although, each of them gave off an incredibly pleasing aesthetic that Steven appreciated. 

“Yeah? Me too.” 

“It reminds me of all the reasons why I love you.” Steven mentioned as if he didn’t mean for his comment to have much meaning attached. 

“Oh yeah?” Connie looked over at him with a smile, knowing that she was going to have been showered in compliments. 

“It reminds me of all of the things that we did together, the adventure that we were on. Being here made me realise that you weren’t like anyone else that I had ever met and that was a  _ good  _ thing! I loved being with you that night and every night afterwards. I just…” Steven nearly choked on his words, completely caught up in the moment of his compliments for Connie. She deserved to hear every one. “Austin taught me how to love.” 

“You knew how to love before this place.” Connie immediately scoffed, not wanting him to feel as if he was incapable before her. Steven had a lot of love in his heart. 

“I didn’t know how to love someone like  _ you _ . I even admitted that to you when we were here.” Steven made sure to bring up the memory. 

“Oh, Steven…” Connie sighed, using her thumb to gently stroke the side of his hand whilst they stepped past a bunch of strangers. It wasn’t quite the place where they had expected to have that conversation, but either way - Steven was glad that he had gotten the chance to speak about it. 

They continued to make their way towards the cafe that had the adorable writing on the side of it. Along with the story that came with the words, it was one of the most romantic places that they had visited. It was nice to know that Steven had been able to conclude within his mind during that day that he was falling in love with the girl who was following him around on tour. 

“I’m just really glad that I met you.” Steven smiled over at Connie, repeating the words that he was sure that he had said multiple times throughout their relationship. Something that he felt the need to repeat whenever it had been a while since he had last said it. Connie needed to know how much she meant to him regardless of the occasion. 

“Me too.” Connie stopped in her tracks as she spoke, causing Steven to pause as they walked. 

Off to the side of the sidewalk, she kissed him on the lips. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to confirm to Steven how much he meant to her. He wanted to lose himself in the kiss, but the odd person walking through the city that would have stopped them.

Steven smiled as she pulled on his hand, forcing him to continue walking as they made their way down the street towards the art. It took them only moments to get there, spinning themselves around so that they were facing the green wall with the red writing that had been splashed up there. 

_ I love you so much.  _

They stood side by side and stared up at the art, gently letting go of each other’s hand as they appreciated the writing that had a lot of meaning to them both. Steven studied the writing as he took a deep breath. 

This was the place where he wanted to propose. He knew this was the moment that he had been looking forward to the whole time. The one place that would have been perfect for the occasion. Finally, Connie would have the ring that he had been carrying for longer than he could remember. 

“I knew I was in love when we stood here together.” Steven placed his hands into his pockets and stared up at the writing on the outside of the building that had spoken volumes to them both. 

“You did?” Connie smirked as she looked over at Steven, feeling butterflies in her stomach over the memory that they had shared a couple of years ago. It was either butterflies or the remnants of her anxiety. 

“Well, I  _ knew  _ when we first met.” 

“You can’t just know that!” Connie argued back with a slight titter, she knew that Steven was a sucker for love. Although, that didn’t mean that he had managed to sway her opinions on love at first sight. 

“Well, I did!” Steven folded over his arms as he made his argument once more. 

“Anyway, I thought you said you  _ fell  _ in love with me in Birmingham.” 

“I fell in love with you every day on that tour...” 

Connie still managed to blush at his comment, despite her hearing something similar from him on what felt like a day to day basis. Even though he gave her a lot of praise for mundane things whenever they were together, he never stopped telling her how much he loved her. That was the most important thing in his mind. 

“I still  _ said  _ it first.” Connie playfully stuck out her tongue. 

“You know that’s not fair!” Steven sighed at her teasing. He hadn’t said 'I love you' first due to the amount of history he had with the words. The only time that he had said them to people was in so-called relationships that hadn’t lasted more than a night. It was never real. 

He wanted to make sure that Connie was truly going to be someone that he could love who was going to love him back just the same. She was. Connie made him feel things that he had never felt with anyone else in his entire life. She was perfect for him in every way. 

“I’m only teasing.” Connie gently placed her hand on his shoulder as they both looked up at the painting on the wall. 

Steven stared at the words a little longer. They were just the same as the night a few years ago when he had read the words out loud. Little did Connie know that he wanted to say the words out loud and directly to her at the time. Back then, he had only known her for a little while - but that didn’t change the way that he felt. 

“I love you so much.” Steven sighed, reading from the wall with a smile. Except, this time he was saying the words with plenty of meaning rather than just reading what was written. This time, the words had a lot more meaning. 

He loved her so much that he would have done anything for her. He truly wanted to be with her for the rest of his life and he was always going to make sure to fight that corner so that he knew it would happen. He wanted to be with her no matter what external forces attempted to push them away. 

“I love you so much, too.” Connie added to the words on the wall as she repeated them. In her case, she was making sure to say them in a genuine place that Steven could see. 

Steven turned towards her, gently placing his hand on top of hers as she rested it on his shoulder. She looked towards him, noticing how sweet he looked under the light of the streetlight. They had kissed in that same spot before. A place that they both held dear within their memories of one another. It was an important place for their relationship. 

A place that had been one of the many to cement their relationship with one another. Another stepping stone into what they had. 

“If we’re trying to reenact the scene, this is the part where I kissed you.” Steven smiled, trying his hardest to make sure that he got his fair share of kisses. Connie held onto either side of his arms gently and looked towards him with a small smile, she knew exactly what he wanted. 

“Well, it would be a shame to go off-script.” Connie laughed, touching his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. 

Steven leant in for a kiss, tilting his head slightly as he pressed against her lips. Connie helped guide the act as she had practically done so the first time they had kissed in that exact location. At this point, they didn’t mind if they created any kind of turmoil in a public place. This was an important location to them both and making out there had become a staple part of their relationship. 

Connie giggled on his lips as he went in for another kiss when she tried to retract herself. She didn’t mind one bit, his lips just as soft and loving as they had been the first time that she had kissed him there. 

She hoped that there wouldn’t have been the same idiot driving by this time as there was a few years ago. Beeping their horn as they kissed was not a good move, especially considering they had both nearly given one another split lips as they jumped at the sound. 

The couple stood outside of the cafe with the writing on the side of the building, holding each other close as they kissed lovingly. There was nothing that could have broken them apart. 

This was it. This was the moment that he had been waiting for for a long time. He gently touched the outside of his pocket to make sure that the ring that he had brought months ago was still there. He kept his lips attached to Connie’s as he internally confirmed that the ring was still with him. 

He was incredibly nervous about popping the question. He wanted to make sure that whenever he did ask the question that it was going to be perfect. It had to be romantic. It had to be special. 

The entire day that they had spent together had been wonderful and incredibly romantic. 

This was it. 

The perfect moment for him to get down on one knee and-

Connie’s phone began to ring. 

Steven tried to keep hold of the kiss for as long as he possibly could as he felt her attempting to back away so that she could answer her phone. It could have been anyone, but Connie needed to know who it was at the very least. What if it was important? 

The moment was ruined as Connie moved away from Steven and pulled out her phone. She mouthed the words ‘sorry’ at him before bringing the phone to her ear. 

Steven understood that she was incredibly busy with the book tour, but it did make him upset when she was always focused on work. He didn’t want her to get too stressed, especially considering how sick she had gotten during the day. Work was important, but it certainly wasn’t more important than her wellbeing. 

“This is Connie Maheswaran. Yes. Really? That would be...wow. I understand. It’s no problem. I can send you the dates if that would help? That would be amazing. Thank you so much! I hope to see you soon! Thank you!” Connie spoke briefly on the phone, causing Steven to stand beside her with his hands in his pockets. 

It was getting a little late, he was unsure as to why someone was willing to call her at that time. It seemed as if it was an important phone call. Steven didn’t want to cut in. 

“Who was that?” He questioned, pushing out the thoughts of proposing from his mind. There would have always been the next time. 

Although, the next time would never have been as perfect as what he could have had in Austin. Connie would have kicked herself if she was aware of all of the times that Steven had tried to propose to her over the past couple of months. He had been trying hard to make sure things were perfect when he did!

This had been the closest he had come to make it right. 

“Uhhh...Philip Butler wants me on his podcast!” Connie smiled with a slight squeak in her tone, trying her hardest to hide how excited she was about the offer that she had just received. She had a few things already lined up in different states, but being able to go on a radio show in San Francisco was cool, to say the least! 

Especially with Philip Butler!

Philip Butler was one of the many music reviewers back in the nineties that had gained a lot of wealth and success for being great at interviews and hosting shows. It was in recent years he had gotten into the podcast industry and made his way interviewing new authors on their debut novels to try and get them to a point where they could advertise their book. 

Everyone knew who Philip Butler was. He was practically a household name. 

“Woah! That’s really cool!” Steven’s face lit up, despite being upset that he couldn’t have popped the question at that moment, he was happy that Connie still got some kind of exciting news. She deserved it. 

“I can’t wait to tell Max. She’s not going to believe it! Philip Butler?! I'm going to be on his podcast...so many people listen to that!” Connie immediately opened up her texting app to make Max aware of what was happening in a couple of days with them all. It would have been amazing to have been a part of that. Max was never going to live it down that they had contacted Connie personally rather than gone through her. 

Connie didn’t even question how they had managed to get her phone number. All that mattered was she was going to be on Philip Butler's podcast and that was certainly something in itself. 

“It sounds like a lot of fun!” Steven half-smiled at the thought. As excited as he was for Connie, he couldn’t help but feel deflated by the situation he had just been in. 

He was so close to proposing to the love of his life and within seconds it felt as if she didn’t want anything to do with him, far too distracted by her phone to bother to look up and notice Steven with his hands in his pockets staring up at the red writing. 

He loved her so much that it hurt. 

As stupid as he was for thinking it, he often wondered whether she felt the same amount of love for him as he did for her. It wasn’t a competition, but Steven knew that he couldn’t live without her anymore. Connie could live without him though…she was doing so well. 

“Woah! That’s so exciting!” Connie couldn’t contain her excitement as she stared down at her phone, still in complete shock that Philip Butler wanted her to have appeared on his show. It was insane to think about.

Although she had been incredibly nervous about all of the times that she had been at the signings, the idea of someone like Philip Butler wanting to see her on his show was exciting to have said the least. It felt as if she was being given a boost of confidence for everything that she had done along the tour already. 

Connie’s mind was stuck in one place at that moment and that place was one that she wouldn’t have been able to get out of until she had slept off her excitement. It wasn’t as if they were even going to have been in San Francisco for another couple of days anyway! 

She had a little while to contain her excitement.

As happy as Steven was for Connie to have gotten a phone call - it had completely blown all of his plans for a proposal. What was he supposed to have done now? Where was he going to have proposed? 

The plan within his mind had been perfect. This was no longer the perfect moment. 

It was ruined. He had missed his chance. 

Steven smiled, trying his hardest to fight through the pain of his plan being ruined. He didn’t want to make himself cry with the realisation that perhaps he wasn’t going to have been able to make things as perfect as he wanted them to be. Things would just have to have been mundane and not very special.

Connie deserved special. Maybe that was something that Steven couldn’t have provided even if he tried to do so? 

“So, you want to get ice cream to celebrate?” Steven attempted to come up with a suggestion that would have continued the romance but would have taken it away from his masterplan. He needed to think of something quickly that would have taken him to the location that was suddenly making him sad. 

He only wanted happy things to have been associated with Austin - which they currently were. 

He took a deep breath to compose himself. 

“As long as it’s cookie dough and we can’t get any spoons!” Connie insisted as she placed her phone back into her pocket and grinned over at Steven, trying to contain her excitement. 

It didn’t stop her stomach from churning at the idea. It didn’t have a say in what she wanted to do, it needed to shut up. Sure, going to be on a podcast as big as that was going to have been a lot of fun and done wonders for the book - but that didn't mean she wasn't going to be nervous for it. 

“That sounds like the perfect plan!” Steven laughed. It  _ was  _ a perfect plan. 

It would have been more perfect if Steven had gotten the opportunity to propose beforehand. 

Steven gripped onto her hand and smiled as they walked down the street towards the same store that they had visited all them years ago. They hoped that they still sold the same brand of ice cream. 

Steven knew that even if his attempts had failed that time, he was going to try and try until he was successful in his feat. 

He was going to ask Connie to marry him - no matter what. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday, Star!  
> Happy Birthday, E!


	6. Las Vegas, NV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar face shows up at the signing.

Steven knew from the previous day that no matter what he tried he was going to get his own way when it came to the proposal. It was something that he was never going to stop trying. He needed to make sure that whatever he did turned out perfect. 

It was what Connie deserved.

Steven wanted to do everything he could to make sure that she got everything she deserved in terms of the love that she received. He was desperate to know what he could have done to have made the proposal something that she would have wanted to have spoken about with everyone that she knew. 

When Connie had been in the shower or another room when they were back at home, he had spent a lot of time looking at different proposal videos of other couples online. Everyone seemed to have something so spectacular that he knew that he never could have beaten it. 

Although, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing? Connie didn’t exactly seem like the sort of person that would have liked anything over the top. All it truly had to be was the both of them together - but it had to be  _ perfect _ . The one thing that Steven had been so deadset on - perfection. 

Steven was concerned over the fact that he may have completely missed his opportunity on several occasions to propose when the moment struck. Days like their day in Austin made him realise that there had been plenty of perfect moments in the past that he had missed due to his perfectionism. It wouldn’t have worked out if she wasn’t surprised. It wouldn’t have worked out if she didn’t say...yes. 

Steven needed to make sure that everything in their relationship was fine at the time when he proposed. It was something that had been hammering his mind for a long time. He always tried to calculate how long it had been since their last disagreement. He believed that two weeks was long enough for her to have forgotten about it, giving him ample opportunity and higher chances of her saying yes. 

Whilst Connie got ready inside the bathroom of the hotel room that they had in Nevada, Steven paced back and forth with the ring in the small box balancing on his fingers. There was so much doubt within his mind. 

When was the perfect moment? 

Would she say yes? 

Was the ring good enough? 

Was  _ Steven  _ good enough? 

He couldn’t stop thinking about all of the things that plagued his mind day after day. Things that made him think a little bit too much about the person that he loved. Connie was the love of his life and there was no way that he would have had it any other way. He wanted to marry Connie one day! 

Even if it took him years to carry out the proposal, he wanted to marry her. It had already taken him a couple of years to build up the courage to even consider it. Moving in with one another was a good indication that things were going to continue. Steven had never been in a relationship with anyone the same way that he had been with Connie and that in his eyes was...the definition of perfection. 

He loved her more than words could compare and yet he couldn’t stop staring at the ring, mostly filling his mind with doubt. 

He listened to the shower in the bathroom splash against the bathtub, in only an hour they would have to attend another signing. Admittedly, Steven had continued to feel concerned over how Connie had been feeling the last couple of days. With her being sick a couple of times, he couldn’t help but worry about her. 

Anxiety was something that he couldn’t fix - the best thing was for him to have been there for her the best that he could. He would have supported her through anything. 

As he stood in the empty room he stared down at the ring, he knew he should have a conversation with someone about it. It was a hard thing to have followed through with and getting some advice would have been good. Although, he didn’t know many people who were married. Not even his Mom and Dad were married. 

Steven gently placed the ring back into his pocket, covering it up for when Connie came out of the shower. The flight over hadn’t been great, it was a lot more cramped than Steven had expected on that side of the plane. He also had to sit in a slightly different place to Max and Connie which hadn’t been fantastic. Luckily, the flight wasn’t too long and he simply just watched a movie that he had downloaded on his phone. 

It was a bad movie, but Steven appreciated the storytelling and costumes. 

"All ready?" Connie questioned as she walked out of the bathroom, a little bit stressed that she wouldn't have been ready in time for the signing. She had plenty of time but her mind was good at telling her otherwise.

"I was waiting for you." Steven held onto both of his knees as he looked over at her, beautiful as ever with her hair all wrapped up in a towel, ready to be dried. 

Spending half the day together had been wonderful and Steven certainly appreciated coming back to the hotel and snuggling up with her whilst they ate ice cream and watched television. It was the perfect way for them to end their date night, the way that they had always handled date nights. 

Connie was still angry over the fact she was still experiencing a lot of grief with the sickness that she had. It was horrible for her to think about and had been hammered by the sickness for the last couple of days. It was causing her to struggle at the events, finding nausea hitting her around the same time, mostly around the signing and a few times a little bit later. 

She needed to find something to calm her anxiety. Max had suggested weed, which Connie had rejected immediately. 

It was becoming frustrating more than anything. Connie needed to get herself together and stop herself from being so stressed about being there. Steven never got that stressed when he went in front of a huge crowd. Connie needed to try her hardest to get over herself and make sure that the stress she was experiencing wouldn't have done her any major damage in the long run. 

Although, it was something that she had been experiencing since she was a teenager. There was no way for her to have escaped from her stress. 

In her mind, she thought about what it would have been like to have run away somewhere to live her life on a desert island with Steven. At least then she wouldn't have been subjected to anyone else around her.

"I'm glad that you're waiting for me. I wouldn't want to go alone." Connie snorted, trying to play on the joke and trying her hardest to make sure she could relive just a little bit of stress. 

"Good because I wouldn't  _ want _ you to go on your own." Steven smiled as he knocked his knees together and watched as she stepped in front of the mirror and began to untangle her hair from the towel. 

He had seen the process several times before, curious to know if that was how everyone with long hair suffered. It looked like far too much maintenance and Steven was appreciative of being able to dry his hair with a single towel to restore it to its fluffy self. Although, he had considered the idea of long hair in the past. His dad seemed to have pulled it off well when he was younger. 

"Do you...ever get bored of playing shows?" Connie looked into the mirror and saw him behind her in the reflection. 

Steven didn't quite expect the question, but with a quick thought, he tried his hardest to answer it. 

"Shows are always fun! There's so much you can do each time that you play that every show becomes a little different! Sure, we tend to stick to the same things - but we can switch it up now and then to keep things interesting." Steven shrugged. "Why? Are you getting bored with the tour?"

"N-no, I don't think so. I just feel like it's the same thing over and over again, y'know? Like...insanity?" Connie was a little unsure of how else to describe it. 

"But don't you feel that way when you're on tour with me?" 

"Well, there are always interesting things happening when I'm on tour with you. We have a lot more time to...do things and hang out!" Connie shrugged, pushing the idea.

"We can make time to do those fun things!" 

"The only interesting thing that's happened on this tour is me being so stressed out of my mind that I can't seem to keep my lunch down." Connie sighed, bringing her hands to her face and hiding from her reflection. 

Steven stood up, feeling incredibly sad that she was in the position that she was in. There was nothing that he could have done to help, she wanted to go on the book tour! It was an excellent idea for them to have promoted the book and they should have been using that to their advantage. As far as he was aware - they were! 

He made his way over to the mirror and hugged her from behind, resting his head on her shoulder before planting a small kiss on her cheek. He never wanted her to feel stressed or alone throughout the time that she was on the tour. He would have followed her the whole time, there was no problem with that. 

"There's plenty of interesting things that have happened and will start to happen. I was lucky to have met you on the first night of my tour. It changed everything and made it all so new and interesting!" Steven spoke with a smile. He so desperately wanted to have spoken about how much he loved Connie all day, but it was nearly time for them to have left. 

Admittedly, the tour in which they had met would have been a tour that Steven wasn't particularly looking forward to until he had met Connie that night. It was something that he was sure would have never happened. The tour was looking to have been an incredibly depressing one as Steven went to the bar, noticing the pretty girl stood beside him and decided to shoot his shot. 

Usually, it was pretty easy to have gotten people into the idea of spending some time with him - even if it was short-lived. A simple 'you can meet me after the show if you like-' was enough to get them to come back. Enough to give Steven time to form some kind of intimate connection with them. 

When he had met Connie he was going to have suggested just that, but when she had mentioned she didn't even like the band he was taken back. That had never happened before. Connie was different and he couldn't stop thinking about her from the moment that they met. 

She was going to have been the one and he was right. She was. 

"You always use the tour we met as an example." Connie groaned, pushing their cheeks together as they stared at one another in the mirror. 

"It's a good example. It was the best tour I'd ever been on!" Sure, there were a few bad things that had happened along the way, but the best thing that had happened to him was Connie and that was incredibly high on the list of reasoning. He didn't need much else for that confirmation. 

Connie was happy to sit and listen to the amount of time he spent in awe over how much he loved the time. Although, it was getting close to them needing to go to the signing, so she would have much preferred to have listened to him afterwards. 

She turned her head so that she could kiss him before gently pushing his hands away from the backwards hug. 

“It was the best tour, but if I’m going to get this tour done I need to get ready.” Connie smiled, trying her hardest not to offend him as she got ready. The last thing she wanted was for Steven to think that she didn’t want him to spoil her with hugs and kisses. Just...now wasn’t the time for that. 

“Okay...fine.” Steven sighed, letting go of the hug and kissing her on the cheek once more. He was surely going to get himself in trouble for always adding extra kisses to the equation. There was no way that she would have accepted anything less, but she wouldn’t have admitted that. 

She loved his little kisses and touches. They always made her feel special. 

Connie continued to try and get herself ready before the signing. It would have been just the same as every other signing that they had been on throughout the tour. It was nice and refreshing to know that they would have been on a podcast soon. That would have been different and a lot of fun - especially if Philip Butler was the one hosting it! 

Just like every other day, Connie made sure to read an excerpt as confidently as she could in front of the small group of people. Trying to make sure that she was getting across the emotions that she wanted to convey when reading. 

Although, it wasn’t long before she was once again sitting at the table waiting for people in the line in front of her to step forward with one of her books in their hands. 

“We missed out on Vegas last time, Crumble. This is our chance to gamble away our firstborn sons.” Max nudged Connie as they sat beside one another at the table. They would have happily have completed all of the book signings and then followed it up with an evening in the casinos. 

At least, that was Max’s plan! 

“I’m not going to be gambling anything.  _ Especially  _ not my firstborn.” Connie snorted.

“You better have some cash then. Or a couple of functional kidneys. Whatever.” Max shrugged, leaning back on the chair as the next person in the line stepped forward and held out the book. 

“One signed book, please!” A voice in front of Connie spoke somewhat loudly. Connie stared up at the figure, noticing that they were covering their identity with a baseball cap. 

“Sure? Coming right up!” Connie was a little confused, she had never heard that one before. It didn’t quite seem rude - but it didn’t feel right. At least it was better than all of the people who were only there for Steven. 

“Cool. Thanks.” The figure spoke with an impatient tone, bouncing gently on their heels. Connie looked up, still unable to see their face. That didn’t seem to matter as she looked back down and signed the inside cover of the book. 

Just as she was about to ask who to address it to, if anyone at all, the figure had slid over to where Steven was sitting on the table. Just the same as everyone else. 

“Psssttt! Yo, Steve-o - it’s me!” 

Steven looked up to see a woman dressed in a large hoodie and a cap, trying her hardest to keep her identity hidden in the public space. 

“A-Amethyst?” Steven stuttered as he stared up at the woman he hadn’t seen in what felt like years. It had been years. The woman who out of all the people that he knew from his childhood had continued to keep in contact. He hadn’t seen her in a long time. 

“The one and only!” Amethyst winked as she stood on the opposite side of the table, causing Steven to stand up. He had to see her. He couldn’t believe his eyes. 

“Amethyst!” Steven squealed a little louder as he practically hopped around the table and threw his arms around the woman who had made his life a little better when he was a kid. 

Amethyst was always the one to make sure that he was in the right frame of mind after everything that happened with his mother. She had been just as upset about Rose, but that didn’t mean that she was going to have ignored Steven. He was a big part of her life and she didn’t have  _ much  _ family otherwise. 

As a teenager, Steven found himself in contact with one of the Gems more so than the others - Amethyst. He had always found her a lot easier to talk to than he would have ever found speaking to Pearl or Garnet. Although, things had been better when speaking to Garnet after their conversation back in the UK. He still hadn't built up enough courage to contact Pearl, despite both Garnet and Amethyst telling him that he should. 

Connie and Max exchanged glances of shock as they watched Steven hug the woman who had been so prominent in his life as a kid. Connie knew that they had kept in contact the whole time. Sometimes they could have gone a long time before sending one another a funny image, but it was nice to see that they still wanted to have that connection, regardless of what it consisted of. 

“Holy shit, that’s Amethyst? That’s another Gem I can mark off my list. Two down, one to go.” Max mumbled as she internally made her tally. It was insane to have been in the presence of someone with so much fame. She was surprised that she had managed to have made it through the crowds at the back of the bookstore without being spotted by a bunch of the crazy Gems fans. 

“I guess...it is.” Connie furrowed her eyebrows over at the figure, she looked a little different from the pictures that Steven had shown her. It certainly had been a long time since she had been in a band with his mother. 

“This is the nice one, right?” Max questioned. 

“I think they’re all nice.”

“Pearl seems a little... _ yikes _ . Didn’t Steven freak out over her after he saw a  _ poster _ ?” Max squinted, thinking back to the memory of them back in the UK.

“He’s worked through a lot since then. Anyway, Pearl is just the one that he doesn’t speak to. Amethyst and Steven talk a lot over text, mostly funny videos and whatnot. Doesn’t seem like anything serious, just courtesy.” Connie shrugged, watching the reunion between the two people in front of her hugging tightly. 

“I bet Steven sends her the memes I send him. Such betrayal.” Max folded over her arms and sighed, watching the pair reconnect. 

Steven laughed slightly at the fact Amethyst was standing right in front of him. It had been so long since he had seen her last. 

“You’ve gotten so much taller! I still remember when you were the baby roadie.” Amethyst chuckled as she reached up and patted Steven’s head, causing him to chuckle like a child. 

“I was never the baby roadie!” 

“Dude! You were the  _ babiest _ of roadies! If we took a kid to a show like that now we’d get stuck in a lawsuit.” Amethyst laughed before looking straight ahead with a deadpan expression. 

“I can’t believe you’re here!” Steven suddenly burst out in excitement, completely in shock that Amethyst was standing before him. It had been a long time since they had spent any time together. 

“Well, what can I say - I wanted to see what this book was about! I wanted to read more about  _ Steven in loveeee _ !” Amethyst made a voice as she reached up to Steven’s cheek and pinched him. Steven gently swatted her away. 

“It’s Connie’s book!” Steven laughed, making sure that Amethyst could no longer come anywhere near his face. 

“Connie...Connie!” Amethyst repeated herself as she turned to look at Connie Maheswaran, the author who had fallen in love with Steven Universe. 

“Hello?” Connie held out her hand politely for Amethyst to shake if she desired to do so. Amethyst was quick to grab her hand and shake gently. Considering her personality, it felt a little weak in comparison to the way she had happily met with Steven.

“It’s nice to meet you, dude. Steven’s told me loads about you!” Amethyst smiled, happy to have met the person that made Steven happy. 

Amethyst had seen Steven through some of his darkest times, so to see him in the position he was currently in was refreshing. It felt nice to know not only had he grown up in terms of his height, but he had also grown as a person since the last time they had spent any time together. 

She very much missed his company. 

“He has?” Connie smirked over at Steven, gradually letting go of Amethyst's hand. Once again - another  _ famous _ person. Probably the most famous person that Connie had ever met. A living legend. 

She had never gotten the opportunity to have met Garnet, but all of the nice things that Steven had mentioned about her made her want to meet her eventually. It probably would have been a while before that could have happened, but it was going to have been something she would love. 

Just as she was going to have loved meeting Amethyst. 

“All the time!”

“Amethyst!” Steven groaned, feeling a little embarrassed that he had spoken a little too much about Connie over text messages throughout the years. Both Garnet and Amethyst knew most of the extent of how much he loved her. Then again, so did everyone else in that room. 

“He’s sweet like that.” 

“He’s a big softie like his dad!” Amethyst joked as she prodded Steven in the stomach, causing him to jump. 

“Hey!”

“I like this person. They enjoy terrorising Steven as much as I do!” Max mumbled as she nudged Connie, causing her to roll her eyes. Max and Amethyst would have gotten along well. Too well. 

Amethyst stopped suddenly, turning back towards the table and furrowing her eyebrows at Max slightly before coming to some kind of realisation. 

“Wait! Max? You’re the one Greg talks about!” Amethyst pointed.

“I am? I hope he only says good things.” Max gritted her teeth together. 

“You have him running in circles. I respect that, it's hilarious!” Amethyst winked as she threw a single finger gun in Max’s direction. 

Max held onto her chest as if she had been shot down by Amethyst's imaginary bullets. She most certainly felt something. It probably had something to do with the idea of being in the presence of a drumming legend - Amethyst. She wished she could have learnt how to drum, but her dad would never have let her have a drumkit in his house.

"Woah." Max mouthed. It was unbelievable. Amethyst from The Gems knew she existed. This whole fame thing was a lot different from what she expected. 

"So, how long are you guys staying in Vegas?" Amethyst pushed gently on Steven's shoulder, causing him to hold onto his arm. 

"Just the night, we're going to New Mexico tomorrow." Connie stated.

"Yo, you guys should totally come and stay with me! There's loads of room!" Amethyst threw both of her hands out either side of her as she made the suggestion, happy to have accommodated for her new guests. 

They had already booked a hotel for that night, but it would have been nice to have spent some time with someone from Steven's family. Steven hadn't seen Amethyst in a long time and keeping up with her would have been considered impossible. She was always on the move, but it turned out she had been living in Vegas for a long time now. Although Amethyst hadn't mentioned anything about living there in the past when speaking to Steven, he was sure he had heard his dad speak about it before. 

"Really? Are you sure? We wouldn't want to-" Steven pressed his hands together, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. He hoped that Connie and Max would have been up for the idea too. He wasn't sure if he was trying to make up for lost time with Amethyst, but it would have been nice for them to have spent some time together. 

"Never! You're my family, I want you to stay and hang out!" Amethyst shook her head, wanting nothing more than to spend time with the man who she had always treated like a little brother. Being the youngest of the Gems meant that she was always the closest in age to her bandmate's son. 

"Connie? How does that sound? Can we?" Steven tilted his head slightly as he looked over at Connie. She felt a little put on the spot. How was she going to have said no? She couldn't have denied Steven the opportunity to spend time with Amethyst. 

"Well, one night not sleeping in a hotel room couldn't hurt." Connie shrugged, exchanging glances between both Max and Steven. Max simply just nodded in response, feeling a little put off by the idea of someone else in the room with a strong personality. That didn't always fare well with her, but this was Amethyst from The Gems and that was cool! 

"Awesome! I have a bunch of spare rooms, you guys can stay wherever you like!" Amethyst smiled, happy to have been accommodating to them all. 

"Sounds good." Steven grinned, placing his hands on his hips. He was happy to know they had somewhere to stay that wasn't a hotel, even happier to know that the person they would have been staying with was Amethyst. 

After spending a short amount of time with Garnet in the UK, Steven had thought long and hard about the relationship that he wanted to have with the Gems. After all, they had been a huge part of his life when he was a kid and they had helped him through a lot. There was still one person who he hadn't spoken to in an incredibly long time. One person that he knew even if he tried he probably wouldn't have been able to speak to. 

Pearl. 

The idea of speaking to her made him shiver. He couldn't help but feel as if even if he wanted to make that connection that she would never be willing. She was a huge pop star! How would she have time for someone like Steven? She wouldn't. She hadn't even bothered to ring him or drop him a message in years. 

She hadn't even spoken to Greg and although that wasn't surprising, he was a little upset that she hadn't even put the past behind her enough to contact Greg so that she could get in contact with Steven. She hadn't made the effort - so Steven wasn't going to have bothered either. There was no point. 

Especially when people like Amethyst and Garnet existed. They wanted to have been a part of his life and it was Pearl that was missing out. They were the ones who got to see him grow and move on from the most traumatic event in his entire life. 

Steven was doing good for himself and Pearl should have known that. Although, she would have known that if she ever bothered to call. It was a waste of time for him to have even considered it. He didn't want to do that. Not one bit. 

Hanging out in Amethyst's home would have been an interesting thing for them to have all done. It wasn't as if Steven had even been around her for a long time, but spending the night inside of her home was going to be different, to say the least. It was a different home from what Steven remembered. This one was in Nevada and the old one was in Nashville.

It had been a long time since he had hung out in one of Amethyst's homes. Out of everyone's houses - he always remembered Amethyst's. It was always the most fun! 

With loads of food, colourful walls, pretty much everything everywhere, a studio and an arcade! It was kitted out for just about any adventure...including the trampoline that was in the yard. It was huge. A part of him still hoped that in the Nevada house she would have kept the trampoline. 

As a kid, Steven loved visiting Amethyst's house the most. It was the most fun and whenever he went there it felt as if he could go and explore just about anywhere. Amethyst's only rule was that there weren't any rules, unlike when he went to see Pearl and was scowled after doing just about anything. 

The small crew were quick at packing up the signing and heading out to be with Amethyst. At the signing, Amethyst needed to dip out the back to make sure that none of the crazy Gems fans would ever come within an inch of her. They probably would have mobbed her if they recognised her under the neck scarf she was wearing to cover half of her face. 

She was lucky to have escaped quickly. Especially in front of a bunch of fans of the Gems. 

Amethyst had been making music for an incredibly long time. At the moment, most of her career involved collaborating with other artists and making the drum track for them whenever they needed. It was a lot of fun and she loved to have her name out there when she wasn’t just...having fun! It was nice to have been a part of something. 

Amethyst had joined the Gems when she was still young, the rest of the band having picked her out when she played the drums at a local bar at the time. Rose had been the first one to approach her and ask if she wanted to be a part of the band - Amethyst happily accepted the offer, thus starting her career as a pop star. 

When they all entered the property, they were immediately greeted by a large entrance hall. Connie hadn't gotten to see the way the rich lived, but for some reason, Amethyst's house didn't irk her in the same way others did. This house wasn't boring in the slightest, it was colourful and full of life. Something that Connie hadn't expected from the large interior. 

Although, despite not expecting it - she was happy to see that it wasn't the boring white colour that most millionaires used. Amethyst had taste and knew how to spend her money correctly. Mostly on super cool things and masses of awesome foods. 

"Welcome to my house!" Amethyst presented with a small how, happy to have the guests in her home. "Make yourself at home, feel free to do whatever! Just don't...tidy anything up that you think needs tidying because it probably doesn't!" Amethyst added quickly to make sure nobody messed up any of the piles of stuff she had built up. Nothing was messy, but it sure was disorganized. 

"Thanks for having us, Amethyst." Steven commented, looking around the home to the ceiling. 

"Real cool of you." Max added. 

"Thank you, Amethyst." Connie nodded as she held her suitcase in front of her. 

"No problem, my dudes. The place gets pretty lonely on my own anyway, especially when my sisters are away doing...whatever. It'll be good to have people stay for the night!" Amethyst smiled sweetly. In such a large house, it was nice to have someone else in there that wasn't her reflection. 

“You live here with your sisters?” Connie was curious to know more. She would have been lying if she said that she hadn’t scrolled through all of the Gems’ Wiki pages when she had first met Steven. She hadn’t read anything about Amethyst having any family, then again - none of the pages mentioned much family. 

“Oh, yeah! They’re all real loud and... _ loud _ \- but they’re fun! They keep me company in this big house.” Amethyst laughed, everyone finding the living dynamic a little strange. Connie didn’t know the huge house was shared between Amethyst and her sister. What sisters? Steven had never mentioned that. 

Steven had met some of Amethyst’s family before, although it hadn’t been for long. They were always off doing whatever they wanted to do. Amethyst used to be the same when she was touring, but it was her that had allowed them to live together. They hadn’t exactly been in the best of positions before Amethyst’s music blew up and she joined the Gems. 

“It’s nice to have people around.” 

“I live on my own. I hate people.” Max suddenly blurted out, counteracting Connie’s comment. 

“Woah, if that ain’t a mood.” Amethyst turned towards Max and gasped slightly. “It is a mood.”

“See, Amethyst gets it.” Max winked towards Connie as she pointed at Amethyst. Connie shook her head, after a couple of times she had mentioned to Max that she worried about her being all alone in her apartment. Max’s response was to buy a houseplant to prove a point. She was fine on her own. 

“Make yourselves at home! The fridge is stacked with whatever you want, so just go HAM and you’ll have a great time.” Amethyst shrugged, happy to have welcomed them all into her home. 

“Nice.” Max nodded, more than happy to have discovered the fridge.

Connie took in all of her surroundings, annoyed that at that moment the only thing she could think about was the nauseous pit at the bottom of her stomach. She was hoping that she would have escaped from her nerves that day, internally praying that she wouldn’t have been sick inside of Amethyst’s home. That would have been bad and she wasn’t very willing to have done that. 

Amethyst didn’t take long to give them a quick tour of the house. She didn’t go into each of the rooms but showed off the important ones that they would have been staying in. Max was incredibly excited about everything to do with the mansion, suddenly a little annoyed that Steven wouldn’t have used the money that he had tucked away for a huge mansion similar to Amethyst’s. 

There had been a quick dinner between them all. It wasn’t very much, but enough for them all to catch up with one another. At least, enough for Amethyst to tell embarrassing stories about Steven when he was a kid. It was something that Connie very much appreciated hearing and Max was having the time of her life finding out more content she could use for blackmail. 

“And that was when he just fell flat on his face! It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen!” Amethyst laughed from the other side of the dinner table as they finished up with their meal. 

“That doesn’t surprise me one bit.” Max laughed, excited to hear the stories that she was telling. 

“I didn’t fall  _ flat _ on my face.” Steven groaned with a blush, rolling his eyes at Connie from across the table. She giggled at his reaction. 

“Looked pretty flat to me.” 

“That’s just my face.” Steven furrowed his eyebrows. 

“Oh Steven, your face is nothing but flat.” Amethyst reached over and squidged his cheek, causing him to swat her away with a laugh. 

“Hey! Come on!” Steven giggled, Amethyst was more than ready to spend the time making sure that he was embarrassed. 

The evening of them all being together was one that they needed. Max and Connie stumbled around the mansion as Steven and Amethyst spent some time catching up with one another. 

“This is weird. I can’t believe we’re in the house of someone who is on the radio like...everyday.” Max raised her hands to her temples, feeling a little out of place in the house. It wasn’t quite what she had expected, but then again - she wasn’t sure what she should have expected from it. 

“It’s strange, right? I always forget that Steven is as ‘famous’ as he is until...I see things like this.” Connie gestured around the house and corridor she was walking through. 

“Well, he’s got all that self-ascribed status that he needs.” 

“I don’t think it shows very well on him.” 

“Oh no, Steven is...humble. Then again, I’d say that Greg is too. He had to get it from somewhere.” Max shrugged, despite Greg having more money than he knew what to do with - it was very rare he brought something that was for himself. Most of the money he made he injected back into his business. 

“They don’t exactly act as if people would easily be able to pick them out of a crowd.” Connie shrugged, happy to know that despite Steven having some kind of fame - he was nowhere near as recognisable as Amethyst or any of the other Gems. Everyone knew what they looked like. 

Steven could still go outside without being harassed constantly. None of the Gems could do that. Someone would always know who they are - no matter where they went. Things would never have been the same when people knew exactly who they were and what they did. There would never have been any kind of escape from that. 

As Max and Connie trailed the corridors, Steven and Amethyst made their way into the arcade that she had been desperate to show him. A throwback to his childhood was in order. 

"Woah! You still have this one?!" Steven practically leapt in front of the pinball machine, pressing the buttons on either side as if by habit. 

"It still has your high score on it!" Amethyst pointed out as she placed her elbow on the edge of the machine. 

Steven stared up in wonderment as the machine flashed through the screens, one noting the high scores and showing his initials. It had been there for an incredibly long time. It had more than likely been there for a good ten years without moving, considering how often Steven knew she played the games - he was shocked to still see it there. 

Steven stepped back and folded over his arms, giving Amethyst a smug look. 

“Sooo, you’re telling me that you can’t beat it?” Steven cocked an eyebrow with a smirk. 

Amethyst rolled her eyes before clenching her fists together in frustration. 

“Dude! I have no idea how you got that score. It’s impossible! I’ve been trying for years!” Amethyst groaned, causing Steven to feel incredibly happy about his achievement that had stayed on the machine for as long as she had it. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t beat the score - she just didn’t want him to lose his place on the leaderboard, forcing herself to lose whenever she got close to the number. 

“I can’t believe you still have all this stuff!” Steven was amazed to see half of the machines he remembered from his childhood still there, in full working order. He hadn’t expected to see them in the same state as they were when he last remembered. 

It was probably because they were a lot more fun with other people. They were a lot more fun when Steven was around to play them with her when he was a kid. 

“Want a game?” Amethyst cocked an eyebrow as she pointed towards the huge skeeball machine that she had inside of her house. It wasn’t something that just about anyone would have inside of their home, but it was something that Amethyst had. If she had money then she may as well have spent it on the things she enjoyed. After all, she had been the one to earn it. 

“Well, sure!” Steven was happy at the suggestion. “But don’t be sad if I kick your butt.” 

“Oh, you’re going down!” Amethyst grumbled with a chuckle, leaning over and picking out the balls, passing a couple to Steven in the process. 

Amethyst messed around with the front of the machine as it booted up. It wasn’t strange for Steven to see an arcade machine that he didn’t have to pay for, considering he had spent so much of his childhood playing on the games. 

Steven put all of his concentration into throwing the balls, thinking back on the time where he had beaten Connie at the game. Admittedly, he had beaten her a couple of times since whenever they had gone to the arcades. It wasn’t that he meant to completely decimate her at all of them, but he held no remorse when it came to the games. 

Amethyst had plenty of practice making sure that she was as skilled at the game as she possibly could have been. It was unlikely it was for this exact reason when Steven would show up once again, but she was happy to get to a point where she was ready to beat him at the game. 

The balls rolled up the middle of the game and flew into the holes, causing them both to score high amounts of points. Steven didn’t rest until the timer was up - totalling up his score and giving him one that he was proud of. He glanced over to Amethyst’s board and noticed that her score was ten points higher. 

“Hey!” 

“Little rusty there, Ste-man?” Amethyst teased as she nudged him in the arm. 

“You get way more practice on this than I do!”

“I barely ever play this one.”

“I don’t believe it.” Steven folded his arms and pouted. 

“You’re just the same sore loser as before.” Amethyst laughed, trying her hardest to keep in the past but allowing it to spill out for that instance. It would have been cheating for her to have let him win, but he would have appreciated the sentiment. He simply didn’t believe he could have been beaten at the game. 

“I’m not!” 

“See, you’re doing the thing that Pearl always used to get on you about!” Amethyst giggled as she pointed up at Steven, now a lot taller than she had expected. 

“What thing?” Steven felt a little weird for Amethyst to have mentioned Pearl’s name so casually. It felt strange to have her name in passing conversation. Steven was more than happy he had worked out that side of his life a long time ago now. He wished he could have completely repaired what it was that he had with each of the Gems. 

Amethyst copied Steven’s expression as she folded her arms and pouted. 

“This thing!” Amethyst laughed before putting on another pout as she copied him the best she could. 

“I don’t look like that.” Steven clenched his fists and threw them back down either side of him, trying not to look anything like what Amethyst was depicting. 

“ _ I don’t look like that _ .” Amethyst mocked, the same way that she used to do when he was a kid. They missed one another dearly. 

Steven laughed, doing everything he could to try and stop Amethyst from copying him. Even getting to the point of trying to touch his nose with his tongue, he wanted to do everything he could to get her to stop. He wanted to be free from the mimicking. It could have lasted forever with Amethyst, she wasn’t usually one for losing and giving up. 

“Come on! Stop it.” Steven groaned.

“Ugh, sure! You’re no fun anymore, you’ve grown up too much! A full adult.” Amethyst chuckled as she nudged him in the chest, still a lot shorter than he was. She wasn’t ever going to grow now, Steven had beaten her years ago. 

“I  _ am  _ twenty-six.” Steven blushed slightly, suddenly feeling a little guilty for growing up so fast. Maybe he should have stayed a kid forever? It didn’t help that the trauma he had faced as a kid forced him to grow up a lot faster than expected. 

“How are you that old already? You’re nearly at the rockstar age. Careful there, buddy.” Amethyst joked, hitting his back gently. Considering his mother’s death - the joke was somewhat insensitive. Amethyst didn’t quite mean it that way though.

“Yeah, I’m always careful! With...everything!” Steven stated proudly, glad to have been able to say it. It was true - for most things. 

It had been such a long time since Amethyst had disbanded with the Gems. Seeing Steven only reminded her of how long it had been. How long they had all spent away from one another. How long it had been since Rose was still alive. How many years Steven had been without a mother. How many years he had been away from Amethyst and the rest of the Gems. 

At least, it was nice that Amethyst got pretty frequent texts from him. That was nice at the very least, considering she believed that he didn’t spend much of his time messaging any of the other Gems.

“So, have you heard from the other two recently?” 

“Garnet and Pearl?”

“Yep. They’re the two.” Amethyst practically clapped her hands together. Hearing about her old bandmates would have been nice, but it was something that she also tried to avoid. Garnet often checked up on Amethyst to make sure she was okay and Pearl often messaged just to throw some kind of judgement. It wasn’t always rude, but it was something that Amethyst would have never gotten used to. 

“I speak to Garnet every now and then, but I haven’t spoken to Pearl.” Steven was a little embarrassed to admit how little contact he had been in with Pearl. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want to, it was more or less the fact that he didn’t believe he could. 

“Eh, Pearl’s always doing her own thing. I never get involved with that.” Amethyst shrugged, throwing herself down on one of the chairs at the side of the room. It was nice to have spoken to Amethyst in person for the first time in what felt like forever. It really had been a long time. 

Steven went and sat down beside her, happy to have been invited into her home. It was great to see that he was still welcome amongst them all. Even Garnet had offered to open up her home for him on multiple occasions. She had even mentioned that if he and Connie ever needed somewhere to stay when they came back to England then she would have happily offered them a room in her house. It was important to her to make sure that she offered what she could and Steven had been incredibly thankful for what she had put forward. 

The pair sat in silence for a moment as they both attempted to gather their thoughts. As much as they enjoyed one another’s company, it was certainly different from the times that they spent together in the past. Something had changed. Life had caused them to drift apart in ways that neither of them had expected. 

“Hey, Steven…” Amethyst began as she threaded her fingers together. Steven glanced over to Amethyst as she sat beside him. 

“Yeah?”

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for not being around more.” Amethyst suddenly admitted, causing Steven to feel a little taken back by her response. 

“What? You don’t need to apologise, I was the one who left!” Steven touched his chest as he chuckled, feeling a little awkward that Amethyst would have admitted to such a thing. It wasn’t as if it was anyone’s fault what had happened and what had caused them all to break apart. 

“I should have done a better job of keeping up with you. I can’t believe I haven’t even been to a Star Destroyers show, man. Why don't we collaborate?” Amethyst clenched her fists as she looked up in frustration, wishing that she had spent more time with Steven when she could. It was annoying that she hadn’t even bothered to do that. 

“There’s still time, we still play shows all the time. And, well, if you ever want to collaborate on anything, I’m sure that Sour Cream would move over and let you play the drums for a single. He would probably love to produce it anyway.” Steven nodded with a smile, happy to hear that Amethyst wanted to do something else in his life. Being a part of it was important and he was happy to hear that she wanted to be there for him. 

After spending a lot of his life thinking that everyone was there just to leave him, having people like Amethyst drop back into his life and make him realise that it wasn’t true at all was...nice. It was a sure way of him being confident in the way that he lived his everyday life. People didn’t want to leave him at all, they always came back. 

Well, apart from all of the people that he spent loveless nights with in the past. That was beside the point and didn’t matter now that he had Connie. 

“That’s true. I just...I don’t want to lose you.” Amethyst looked down at the floor, remembering how incredibly close she used to be with the boy when he was younger. She was never sure what their relationship was, she wasn’t quite like the other two. She had always seen Steven as more of a little brother than being the maternal figure the other two may have seen one another as. 

“You won’t lose me. I’m just...doing my own thing now. Things are kind of  _ perfect  _ at the moment.” Steven looked up with a small smile. Although things weren’t exactly ‘perfect’ with everything that was going on with his life, they were at a point where he could have considered himself happy. 

He was at a position in his life where he was proud to say who he was and other people were happy to accept him. They knew who he was and he was finally at an age where he could say he knew where he wanted to go. His first step in that internal process was to make sure he had proposed to Connie. 

He wanted to marry her. 

“That’s good to hear. I’m glad you’re doing what you want to do. Connie seems...it looks like she makes you happy. It’s nice to see you smiling, man.” Amethyst smiled over at him, her words seemed a little different from what he was usually so used to her saying. Nothing was profound, everything was a serious comment. 

“Connie is amazing. I-”

“Yeah, I’m going to read it. I’m just waiting for the audiobook.” Amethyst snorted, happy to have supported them both in the book tour. 

“Right.” Steven nodded happily, pleased to have spoken to Amethyst. 

He was happy that there had been some kind of conversation between them, considering they hadn’t spoken in person in a very long time. It was nice of Amethyst to have invited them all into her home. It would have been strange for them to have slept overnight, but it was something that they were all a little excited about. Even if nobody wanted to outright admit it. 

The mansion was pretty cool to be in, regardless of the contents and occasionally messy corner. It was Amethyst’s home and she had certainly made it a  _ home _ , unlike a lot of people who had money they made sure they had the smoothest countertops. 

Connie respected Amethyst a lot in that respect. It was important to her that people used their money in ways that benefitted both them and the people around them. Amethyst did just that with the kind hospitality that she showed and the way she opened up all her rooms to her sisters and what felt like other strangers. Max and Connie were happy to have been invited there and thankful that Amethyst had been there to feed them and allow them to make themselves at home. 

“I’m just happy that you’re happy, Steven. It’s nice to know that you’re doing well for yourself. I’m...proud of you?” Amethyst wasn’t sure how to phrase her words, a little nervous to have spoken them. It wasn’t something that she usually would have said to anyone. 

“Thanks...it means a lot.” Steven smiled, happy to have heard the words come from Amethyst. It was nice of them to come from just about anyone, but to hear Amethyst say the words was certainly something he wouldn’t have forgotten. He was going to make sure to hold the words as closely as possible. They were important to him. 

“No problem, my dude.” Amethyst winked with a small finger gun, trying to make the conversation as least awkward as possible. 

The two sat beside one another on the seat, looking out at the personal arcade that Amethyst owned in front of them. It was nice to have such a conversation and finally have been able to spend some much needed time together. It was something that Steven wished he would have reached out and done sooner, Amethyst was pretty much feeling the same way about it.

She wished she would have asked him to come and visit sooner. 

“So, when’s this Star Destroyers and Amethyst collaboration?” Steven attempted to change the subject to avoid being awkward. 

“Oh, whenever you want it to be, dude. I’ll clear my schedule whenever for that! Not that...I ever really follow a schedule.” Amethyst snorted, she wanted to be a part of Steven’s life as much as possible. It would have been a shame if she made herself prominent in any other way. She wanted to be a part of him and the family that he was creating around him. She had already missed out on so much. 

“Cool. I’ll make sure to be in touch.”

“That would be...nice.” Amethyst smiled. 

It was clear that the two of them were happy to have been in contact with one another again. Amethyst was happy that she had spent the time going to Connie’s signing. It was one of the only ways that she could have thought to reach out to Steven. She needed to have him in her life more, it was only right! 

Steven went to join Connie in the foreign bedroom, feeling happy that he had completed his chat with Amethyst. It was so nice to have caught up with something that he felt he had been missing within his life. Amethyst used to be such a big part of it that it was strange to him to feel as if he had completely cut her out of everything. 

The same could have been said about Pearl - perhaps even more so. Pearl always had her own things to do, it wasn’t as if she had ever bothered reaching out. Steven knew that it probably had something to do with his mother. He understood in its entirety that it was likely something that Pearl didn’t want to face. 

It wasn’t as if Steven had ever bothered to contact her in return. 

Steven went to bed that night with a smile on his face. Despite not knowing what the coming days would entail, he was happy to have been in the moment with some of the people in his life he was always afraid of losing. It was nice to cement that Amethyst was in his life forever. A sheer reminder that things were better this way than they were any way before. 

He snuggled up to Connie in the room that was foreign to him and yet Steven couldn't help but feel as if he was in his second home. Being under the same roof as Amethyst was comforting. It was exactly what he needed. 

Things were going to continue to be just...fine. 

Well, that's what he thought...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst is basically Travis Barker in this AU. No judgement.


	7. Albuquerque, NM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven gets a phonecall from an old friend which spirals into something much more than any of them had anticipated.

Spending time with Amethyst was exactly what they had all needed. It was a reminder that despite all of the times that they had been caught with fans, they weren’t quite on the same level as any of the Gems. They would have never been that close. 

In a way, it was nice of them to have that freedom. The freedom to go unnoticed in certain places whereas all of the Gems were much more likely to have been hassled by the general public. There was no way of escaping from them when the only thing on their mind was the idea of them wanting to do as much as possible to hide away from the people who listened to their music. 

Steven, Connie and Max had spent their morning flying out of Las Vegas and landing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They hadn’t stopped there before, so it was nice to have been in another new place. They were each starting to get used to the flights and the signings that they were destined to attend. 

Steven and Connie waited outside of the small shop in Albuquerque, ready to have gotten a Toober to the hotel once Max had finished with her shopping. She was planning on picking up a few things, most of which would have seen them through the signing. Steven stood beside Connie not thinking very much as he gripped onto the top of his suitcase and stared out at the street in front of them. 

Suddenly, his phone began to ring. 

Steven was a little confused as he pulled out his phone and stared at the screen. The person calling wasn't exactly someone that he had expected to have called, although it did flash up as a recognised contact. 

"Who is it?" Connie asked, feeling a little out of sorts over his expression. He only usually pulled that face when it was one of the Gems that were trying to contact him. Although, this time the panicked expression was matched by a small smile. 

"Oh, it's Sadie!" Steven spoke excitedly as if it was completely normal to have folk-pop star, Sadie Miller in your contacts. 

"Sadie? As in... _ Sadie Miller _ ?" Connie nearly gasped at the mention of the star's name. It was a couple of summers ago now when she had met the artists, someone that she had been playing songs from for a long time. It was insane to her that she had met someone so...famous. Although, it was with that realisation that she noticed the fame that Steven held. 

Steven nodded happily before pressing the green button on the phone and holding it to his ear. Connie waited anxiously to hear what it was that Sadie had to say. 

A couple of months after they had moved into their house, Sadie had been playing not too far away from Nashville. Steven had managed to get them both tickets to the show, which Connie very much enjoyed. It was even better when they got to go and meet Sadie for the second time. The weirdest part about it was how it felt as if Steven was catching up with an old friend and not...a pop star. To Steven - she was both. 

"Hey, Sadie! What's up?" Steven grinned widely as he spoke, Connie suddenly realising that he may have predicted the nature of the call. Connie listened as he made noises of confirmation over the phone before he looked directly at her as he spoke. "Oh yeah? Well, I've got her here if you want to speak to her! I'm sure she'd love that. Talk to you later! Here-" Steven held out the phone for Connie, taking her by surprise at the gesture. 

"Me?" Connie pointed at herself, shocked at the idea that Sadie Miller would have wanted to talk to her.

Steven nodded with a smug grin as Connie carefully held the phone up to her ear. 

"Hello?"

"Connie! Ah, wow! I, uh... I'm calling to tell you about how much I loved your book. I'm not really that much of a reader anymore, but it had me hooked." Sadie complimented as Connie stood still, completely immobilised by her words. 

"You read my book?" Connie practically mumbled as she reached out to hold onto Steven. Steven took a step forward and allowed for her to grip onto his sleeve, he was more than happy to have been there to hold onto. 

"Yeah! Y'know... it's really nice to hear from a strong female author. I know it might seem surprising, but I don't have as much confidence as I try to show. I really appreciated everything you said. I'm still an introvert and hearing what you had to say was important. I think it's something that's going to be incredibly important for young women now and to come too!" Sadie spoke with enough confidence that Connie believed every word that she was saying. There was something about hearing such flattering things coming from someone that she admired that began to sway her internal perspective. 

"You really think?" 

"Oh yeah! I'm sure of it. I know Steven was being supportive by sending me a book, but I had to read it! I'm glad I did and now I can't stop recommending it to people! You have such an interesting perspective on the world!" The words that Sadie spoke were incredibly flattering and Connie loved every sentence. It was insane to have thought that she was one of the many people to have read her book. 

There was a section inside of the book that mentioned when Steven had introduced Connie to Sadie. Considering Connie had been a big fan of Sadie Miller before ever getting to meet her, it was incredibly bizarre to have become what seemed to have been a...friend? 

It was at that moment that Connie realised just how famous Steven was. He was popular enough to have famous friends and that was...something. 

“I...that’s so nice of you! I can’t believe you read it, thank you!” Connie was speechless, a little unsure on how to thank the pop star. There was nothing she could have said or done that would have been enough. 

“Thanks for the shout-out, by the way - I loved that part.” Sadie chuckled, more than happy to have spent all day speaking to Connie about the book. Reading it had felt as if she was going inside of Connie’s mind. A way of seeing what she was thinking throughout the whole time she was on tour with Star Destroyers. 

It was certainly interesting to see how someone who had never been to a concert before had suddenly got caught up in such an adventure. It was good to see their perspective on certain things within the industry that someone on the inside may not have picked up on. For Sadie and Steven, music was their everyday life. 

“O-Oh yeah! It was a big moment on the tour for me, it was really fun to meet you. I love your music and I was a little shocked that Steven knew who you were.” Connie gripped a little harder onto the front of Steven’s shirt as he stood with his hands on his hips smirking at the girl in front of him. 

“I’ve known Steven for as long as I can remember now. I’m so happy for both of you, the book really shows how much you love each other. It’s adorable.” 

“Yeah, he’s okay, I  _ guess _ ...” Connie teased as she grinned over at Steven as he pouted, attempting to hide his smile. Sadie found herself laughing at the comment, knowing that the joke would have caused Steven to react in some way. 

“You guys can message me whenever you’re around and I can get you tickets for any of my shows. Y’know that, right?” Sadie offered. 

“That would be amazing. Thank you so much!” Connie practically gasped, she was certain that Sadie had mentioned something similar before and they had taken her up on the offer. Connie was more than happy to have attended one of her shows. It was certainly different going to shows where Star Destroyers weren’t playing. 

“I’m going to have to head out now, but it’s been great talking to you. I hope I can come and visit you and Steven soon. I’d love to speak more about your book!” Sadie spoke in an excited tone as she got near the end of the conversation. 

“Yes! I’d love to do that.” Connie was more than happy with the fact that Sadie had called. It was so nice to have heard the praise from someone that she looked up to. Even someone who wasn’t an author. 

“Well, I’ll catch you later!” 

“Thank you once again! Bye!” 

Connie removed the phone away from the side of her face and passed it over to Steven, gently releasing him from her grip. She was in complete shock that Sadie Miller had decided to ring her regarding her book. 

Sadie. Miller! 

Steven put the phone to his face and listened to what Sadie had to say about the book. It had been a while since he had spoken to his friend, other than when he had provided her with a copy of the story. 

“Hey, Sadie! Thanks for reading. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” 

“Thanks, Steven. I’m so happy you gave me a copy to read! It was such an interesting story, you’re a pretty complex person, Steven Universe!” Sadie chuckled lightly, happy to have once again been speaking to an old friend. It was nice reading the book, it felt as if Sadie was catching up with him.

“How so?” Steven snorted, holding his hand out for Connie to hold as she smiled over at him - still incredibly excited over the interaction they had. 

“Well, for a start - I thought Connie was your first girlfriend. Wow. You never told me about that...” Sadie felt a little uncomfortable mentioning it but couldn’t help but want to press. After she had read about it in the book, she was curious to know how her friend had gotten to that point in his life where he felt as if living that kind of lifestyle would have been healthy for him as a person. 

“She is.” Steven smiled over at Connie once more, continuing to hold her hand, unsure what Sadie was referring to. 

“Oh. Sorry, it just...it didn’t really sound like it in the book.” Sadie was a little confused. 

“What do you mean?”

“Well...y’know...the part about all those people you’ve been with before Connie? I know she says that they didn’t hang around for long, but Steven...I’m sorry that you felt that way. Love is...difficult. I’m glad you found Connie, but I wish you would have spoken to me about it. You know you can call me whenever, right?” 

Steven’s face dropped at the comment. He let go of Connie’s hand immediately and stared at the floor. 

“What?”

“You can call me whenever, Steven. I’m never going to judge you.”

“The other thing. What are you talking about?”

“About the book?”

“Yeah. When did that part happen? When did you find that out?” 

“I thought you read the book?”

“I did.  _ Before  _ it was published.” Steven looked up with furrowed eyebrows, his entire mind clouded by bad thoughts. Connie looked towards him with confusion spread across her face. Just moments ago he was happy to have been discussing the book, happy that Connie had heard Sadie speak about how much she loved it! 

“Oh.” Sadie paused. “Oh. I...uh...was that...was that part supposed to have been in there? About...the girls? Oh. ” 

“No. No, it wasn’t.” Steven shook his head, his bottom lip suddenly trembling at the thought. Connie stepped forward slightly, unsure what he was speaking about on the phone. What had Sadie said that had upset him so much? 

“Oh, Steven. I’m...sorry. It's nothing bad! It's just...it just talks about the people you've been with in the past. I'm sure Connie meant nothing by it. It's uh-” Sadie was unsure what to say, completely shocked with what she had mentioned. 

Steven knew that Connie had made a lot of revisions with her editor before it was published, but he hadn’t expected her to have added anything like...that. Why would she have put that in the book? Why did other people need to know about his failed relationships? What had she published in a novel for the whole world to have seen? 

“I really need to go.” Steven spoke with a shaky breath, it wasn’t what he had expected from the phone call. To have found something out so...devastating. He needed to know what she had said. 

“Okay, Steven. I’ll speak to yo-” Before Sadie could even finish Steven had hung up the phone, desperate to know what it was Connie had written about him in the book that he hadn’t approved of. 

Steven immediately dropped to his knees, pulling over the suitcase as he went. Connie stepped back slightly, a little confused as to what he was doing at the side of the street. She watched as he rapidly unzipped the suitcase that was filled with the books. He aggressively pulled one out before flicking through the pages in frustration. 

“Steven?” 

Steven didn’t respond to Connie’s soft call as his entire face twitched with anger, trying to hold in everything before he saw exactly what it was she had written. Had Sadie made it sound worse than it was? Had the band told her about his experiences previously? Maybe it wasn’t in the book? Maybe Sadie had heard it from somewhere else? 

“Steven? What are you looking f-”

Steven immediately stood up at the second sound of his name, holding the book tightly as he pushed it in front of him, forcing Connie to take it from him. 

“Where is it?” Steven demanded, his eyes welling at the thought of what he may have seen. 

“What? What are you talking about?”

“The part of the book where you publicly humiliate me in front of thousands of people!” Steven spat as he watched Connie grip a little tighter onto the book. 

“What?” Connie’s expression dropped. 

“I don’t know, Connie - you tell me. Show me where it is. I want to know what everyone saw that I didn’t!” Steven clenched his fists, turning his knuckles white at the thought. Passersby were now turning their head at the man raising his voice at the side of the street. 

“Steven, I don’t know what you’re talking about! What do you want to see?” Connie shrugged in her defence, confused by what he was trying to get across. 

“The part where you tell everyone how awful I am for sleeping with people before you! Where you tell everyone how much of a mess I am! What did you say about me? I thought we were over this!” Steven’s eyes began to water to the point where a single tear dripped down the side of his face, unsure whether or not it was because of his sadness or anger. Perhaps a mixture of both? 

“Oh.” Connie swallowed hard at the realisation. 

“Oh?”

“Steven...I only put in there what other people knew! It was no big secret or anything.” 

“Yes it was! It was to  _ me _ !” Steven pointed at his chest, feeling horrible about the situation. He didn’t want to shout at Connie, but his emotions were overtaking everything else that he felt. “Where was it? Where did you put it in the book?” 

“It’s in-”

“But where? What part?” Steven tapped the top of the book that Connie was holding. 

“Hold on, I have to find it!” Connie huffed, after doing multiple revisions with her editor there were a lot of things that she took away and a lot of things that she added. A lot of things that she added were things she could have used to spice up the story. Things that would have drawn more readership. 

Things like...how many people Steven Universe had slept with. 

Connie flicked through the book, trying to find the part of the book that she thought Steven was referring to. It wasn’t as if she ever intentionally meant to hurt him, it seemed as if everyone already knew what it was that Steven did when it was on tour. It didn’t feel like a secret, just something that Steven didn’t enjoy speaking about!

Her editors had pushed her to write something juicy. She only assumed that was the kind of thing that came up about Steven online, why would it have made a difference if it was in a book? 

Although, maybe the world didn’t know the full extent that Connie had written? 

Steven stood impatiently waiting for her to flick through, unsure how he was going to have felt when he first read whatever was in there. Connie turned the book around and pointed to a section. 

“I think...it’s this?” Connie handed it over. “Steven, you know they pushed me to put parts in it. I didn’t want to overstep, but they kept pushing. It’s not-” 

Steven didn’t listen to a single word as he studied the page, absorbing all of the information that he needed. The paragraph that she was referring to. The paragraph that Sadie had referenced. 

_ When Steven had spoken to me in the past about his attempts at love, I had always been there to listen. He never spoke much about them, pursuits for love were something that people didn’t enjoy speaking about - especially if they were failed pursuits. In Steven’s case, this had been all of them. In a way, I understood that my experience with love was nil, but the way Steven spoke about how little affection he had gotten in the past made me feel as if he was just as new to this as I was. New in the sense of figuring out what it was like to love another person. You don’t find love at the back of a music venue or in a run-down bathroom stall. How was I supposed to react when I found out my soon-to-be boyfriend had slept with more people than there had been United States Presidents? Not a single one he had been with more than the one time...until he met me. I guess, in a way, that was how he found out he had met someone who was going to stick around. For the first time ever, Steven Universe wasn’t going to have been left the morning after.  _

Steven noticed his tear drip onto the page, why would she have written something so personal about him? The book was about  _ her _ ! Not him! 

“Why would you...write that?” Steven found himself deflated at the thought - everyone was going to see this! Everyone! 

“I didn’t know it was something that-”

“You didn’t even speak to me about it! You hid it from me!” Steven began to flick through the book once more. “What else is in here that you haven’t told me about? What else did you write?” Steven’s voice came through in cracks as he turned each page, desperate to make sure the rest of the book was clear of his past errors. 

“Nothing! Look, I was pushed to put it in. I didn’t think it was going to upset you, else I wouldn’t have bothered!” Connie tried her hardest to defend her actions, as much as she thought about putting it in at the time - the push had come from the editor that made her make the final decision. 

“My dad’s going to read this!” Steven shook the book violently in front of Connie as he used his spare hand to run his fingers through his hair. 

“I thought everyone knew what you were like!” 

“What  _ I’m like _ ? What’s that? What  _ am  _ I like? A horrible person that slept with a bunch of people because I was depressed and alone? Someone that nobody wants to be around?” Steven shook his head, in complete disbelief that Connie would have said something of the sorts. 

“No! I never said any of that!”

“You should have, it would have been better than whatever you’ve put in here!” Steven pointed at the cover of the book aggressively. 

“I didn’t put anything else in there that you’re not aware of. Even if I did - everything in there is what I thought you had already shared with everyone. You never told me what was and wasn’t off limits! I thought you knew!” Connie argued back, making sure that Steven knew that this wasn’t completely her fault. 

He should have offered to have read the completed version, but he had already read through a couple of the drafts several times. He didn’t want to feel as if he was prying by continuing to ask. He was going to wait until everyone else had read it for him to have read it again. 

He should have made plans to have read it sooner. They were both at fault for their errors. 

“I didn’t know! You didn’t tell me you were adding things!”

“Yes, I did!”

“Well, you didn’t tell me you were adding  _ that _ !” Steven barked back, trying not to raise his voice too much in public. 

He huffed, wiping his eyes as he knelt and threw the book back into the suitcase before zipping it back up. 

Max stepped over, having finished with the shopping that she wanted to do in the store they were all currently standing outside of. She was holding a shopping bag in one hand and half a sandwich in another. 

“I got everyone something that they would enjoy. Including Starbursts. Lots of Starbursts.” Max nodded as she exchanged glances between the couple, noticing the harsh looks that they were giving one another. She had most certainly stepped into something. “So...uh...what’s happening?” 

“We’re waiting for the Toober.” Connie stated bluntly as she folded over her arms and looked down at Steven who was still messing around with the suitcase. 

“Oh, just arguing about something that’s  _ apparently  _ not that much of a big deal.” Steven shrugged with a small pout, wiping his eyes once more to try and stop himself from crying any further. 

“Steven!”

“What? I thought it was appropriate to be honest with Max, since y’know...telling people things is  _ important _ .” Steven glared at Connie before standing the suitcase back up, continuing to be as petty as he was annoyed. 

“Really?” Connie shook her head, completely unimpressed with the way he was acting. 

“Woah. This is... _ new. _ ” Max pressed her lips into a thin line before taking a bite out of her sandwich. 

There was silence between them. Max noticed that nobody was speaking and positioned herself between the two of them, the tension rising around her. She swallowed the bite of the sandwich and stared ahead. She had no idea what had happened, but she had never seen the couple do that before. 

There were only moments between Max getting out of the shop and the Toober pulling up beside the sidewalk. They all piled into the car, placing the suitcases into the trunk and climbing in. For the first time ever - Max sat between them both offering them Starbursts as the entire journey was sat in silence.

They both denied Max’s offer. 

Max knew that speaking would have made things a lot worse, although she wasn’t sure what kind of argument the couple had gotten into - it seemed bad. She had never seen them look like that before. She had witnessed plenty of petty arguments in the past that Connie usually won - but this was different. 

Very different. 

Neither of them said a word as they went to reception and asked for their room keys. Max followed them up to the same floor, it turned out that their rooms were beside one another. Max could only imagine it would have been likely for her to have heard them yelling at one another through the walls. A little similar to how she would sit at home and hear her dad yelling at her brothers.

Steven and Connie got into the hotel room, there wasn’t much time before they needed to go to the signing - but it was enough time for them to have gotten into a prolonged argument with one another. Something that they both wish they had never started. 

Steven didn’t say a word as he wheeled the suitcase into the room and pushed it into the corner. They wouldn’t have needed it for a while. He threw the backpack he had down on the floor and found himself sitting in a chair that was in the corner of the room. Connie laid her suitcase down on the bed and dug around to make sure that she had everything that she needed for the event later. Steven couldn’t stand being sat down for long, his anger causing him to stand up and begin to pace. He needed to get out of the room. 

“I don’t know what you want me to do about it, I can’t change it now. I’m sorry, Steven.” Connie spoke in a soft tone, but to Steven, it didn’t seem as genuine as he wanted from the apology. 

This was something that was going to have been with him forever. Something that he was going to have to live with everyone around him knowing. Sure, he had slept with a lot of people before Connie - but he didn’t want the whole world to know about it! He hadn’t even wanted Connie to have known about it in the first place, but he wanted to have been honest. 

Something that he felt Connie wasn’t being with him. 

All she had to do was to tell him. Ask him. Anything! The shock that came with knowing that he had actively promoted the book thinking he knew all of the contents when in fact he didn’t. People would have read the lines inside and known how much of a terrible person he was. 

He couldn’t believe that his dad was going to read how many people he had slept with and that was only if he hadn’t already. Sure, his dad knew that he had plenty of sexual partners - but he didn’t quite know to what extent. It certainly wasn’t a bunch of presidents worth. 

“You don’t expect me to be okay with this, right?” Steven threw his hands to his sides, turning to face her on the opposite side of the bed. 

“I don’t, but you could have been more explicit on the things you wanted in there.” Connie scoffed. They had been over the things not to touch upon, surprisingly, that was something that didn’t come up. 

“I thought it would have been obvious that wasn’t something I’d want in there! Why would I want everyone to know I slept around like a...sad loveless loser? That sort of thing can ruin my career!” 

“Your  _ career _ ? If you were worried about your career then you should have thought about that sixty-eight people ago.” 

“What?” Steven’s entire expression dropped. 

“You can’t possibly make me believe this is about your career.”

“That sort of knowledge gets people like me in trouble in this music scene! The band could be over with if it gets out. You don’t get it!” 

“No, Steven - I do get it. I already said that I was sorry that I put it in there, but I can’t do anything about it when it’s been published. Do you want me to travel the world and destroy every copy so they can’t read  _ a single paragraph _ where I  _ briefly  _ mention your sex life?” Connie spoke sarcastically. 

“No! People have already read it!”

“Okay, sorry - let me just get my memory-erasing ray gun-”

“Come on! You know that isn’t real!”

“Steven!”

Steven took a deep breath and clenched his fists, biting down hard on his bottom lip. He was sure that if he chewed any harder he would have broken skin. He was so mad! He was even madder that he was mad with Connie! He was mad at himself for being mad at Connie! Ugh!

“Why? Why did you think it was okay to just...put all of that out there, Connie? Why would you do that?” Steven suddenly snapped, raising his arm and pointing towards the wall. 

“It was one paragraph!”

“One paragraph that’s going to ruin  _ everything _ !”

“The book has been out for over a week. Nobody’s said anything yet!”

“There’s still time for people to talk!”

“Did you do something to someone you’re not telling me?”

“No! Never! Why would you-”

“That’s what you’re making it sound like. So what? You slept with a few people? Loads of people do that!” Connie shrugged, trying to make the whole ordeal seem like less of a big deal than it really was. 

“You didn’t!”

“I didn’t say me.”

“But you told everyone I’ve slept with more people than there have been presidents! Isn’t that like...sixty?” Steven squinted in frustration. 

“Forty-six, Steven.” Connie corrected. 

“That’s not sixty-eight.”

“Did you want me to be more specific?” She growled back, confused by what he wanted from her. 

“No! I didn’t want you to mention it at all!” Steven ran his fingers through his hair. 

“Well...I did!”

“I know you did! It’s in a published book now!”

“One sentence.” 

“One sentence that’s an invasion of privacy!”

“The book is about our relationship! The whole thing is an invasion of privacy!”

Steven shook his head, no longer wanting to be a part of the conversation. He didn’t want to have to keep fighting for a point that he knew he wouldn’t win. Neither of them was in the right. They both had points to be made and Connie wasn’t even going to stand down against him. 

“Don’t you have to get ready for the signing?” Steven questioned coldly, wondering if he was going to have a moment of peace to himself to collect his thoughts. He was internally fuming with what she had written. 

“Don’t you?”

“I’m not going.” Steven bluntly stated as he folded over his arms and stood his ground. 

“Good.”

“Yeah? I guess that is good.” Steven chuckled to himself. 

“I didn’t want you there anyway. Not if you’re going to be like  _ this _ .” Connie pointed at him, his standoffish posture telling plenty of stories. 

“It’s not like I wanted to go.”

“I know, you just said that - so don’t.” Connie stepped away from the bed with a bundle of clothes in her hands, ready to get ready in the bathroom.

“I won’t.” Steven raised his voice slightly as she walked away. 

“Fine.” Connie responded with a wave as she slammed the bathroom door behind her. 

“Fine!” 

Steven stood in the middle of the hotel room, alone with his thoughts. It was what he wanted and yet at that moment, it was everything that he didn’t want. He needed to leave. He needed to be somewhere away from Connie.

Which, considering how close they had been with one another over the years that they had been together was something that he wasn’t going to take lightly. A thought that terrified him. A thought that he never wanted to hear within his mind ever again. 

Steven took a deep breath and made his way out of the room, prepared to go anywhere that wasn’t the hotel. He wasn’t sure where he wanted to go, but anywhere would have done perfectly. 

Connie stood with her ear against the bathroom door as she listened to him slam the door to the room behind him. She couldn’t quite believe that he had...left. It was never her intention to upset him the way that she had done, but he was being silly! It wasn’t as if a small line in her novel was going to have done anything! 

Sure, it was her fault for not running it past him - but he also never said that it was off-limits! It wasn’t even as if she had gone into it. There was nothing for him to worry about and yet he was taking all his anger for his past mistakes out on her! It wasn’t her fault that he had pretty much had sex with every fan who just so happened to mention the idea of sleeping with him. 

Connie sighed with frustration before grumbling to herself, angry with everything that had gone on over the past couple of hours. What had started as a nice phone call from the one and only Sadie Miller to what seemed like what would have been considered their biggest argument to date. 

She knew that with or without Steven she was going to have to attend the book signing. It was with that quick thought that she got ready before going to see Max. 

“So like...you guys were really  _ loud _ and not the  _ college dorm _ kind of loud.” Max gritted her teeth together as they waited for another Toober to take them to the bookstore. She had noticed that Steven wasn’t coming along with them. 

In fact, neither of them had seen him in a while. 

“It’s fine. We’re fine.” Connie crossed her arms and shook her head. 

“I know what you two sound like when you’re fine. That was not fine.” Max scoffed. “Where is he anyway? He’s going to be late.”

Connie didn’t know how to respond. She wasn’t in a good place when it came to her relationship with Steven and Max could hear it through the thin hotel room walls. 

“He’s not coming. He says he doesn’t want to come.” Connie stated in a cheery voice as if nothing was wrong. 

“Oh. Well...we don’t need him! We can do it on our own.” Max nudged her shoulder for encouragement. Connie didn’t feel in the mood for any of Max’s antics. It didn’t feel right. 

“Sure, we can do it on our own. No problem. It’s not even as if he helps anyway! All he does is sit there and let everyone come to him because he’s Steven Universe and he’s  _ so _ important!” Connie gritted her teeth together, Max simply took a step back and allowed Connie to vent. 

“Uh, might want to reel it in there, Con.” 

“No! I’m not going to.” Connie stood her ground, being as stubborn as ever. 

"Are you sure? Big fish, might want to reel it in and stop talking." Max sucked a deep breath through her teeth. 

"I don't know why he even bothered to come to the signings, it's useless! All if does it make everything about him, when it's not. He's doing that right now. It's selfish. He's being selfish with how he's acting. We could have just spoken about it like two adults, but he just feels the need to go off in a tantrum like some...kid!" Connie folded over her arms in the frustration. 

"Oh! Look, the Toober!" Max laughed nervously as she pointed towards the car that was pulling up. 

Max was thankful that their ride got there pretty quickly. It gave Connie little time for her to vent about Steven. There was no need for it right then and there, she wasn’t going to let him ruin her signing. She needed to go and do the job that she had set out to do. There was no way she wouldn’t have done exactly that. 

She didn’t need Steven to sit there beside her, all he did was hinder the number of people that were willing to speak to her about her book! It was useless. 

Sure, she loved his company and his subtle ways of telling her that everything was going to be okay if anything were to ever go wrong. She loved the way that he held her hand under the table or reminded her that he loved her whenever she looked sad. The way that even though the fans tended to flock towards him, he would always be willing to redirect them towards her. 

But she was mad! Really mad! He had no right to shout at her the way he did! They could have had a civil conversation about it, but it just seemed as if he was much more concerned with the idea of his career being on the line. That wasn’t what this was about! 

Connie made sure to go through with the reading of her book. Admittedly, she found it incredibly hard to concentrate when the only thing she kept doing was looking past the crowd and towards the door. There was no way that he would have decided to have not shown up to the event. 

He wasn’t really going to have decided not to go…

Would he? 

Connie believed it was nothing more than an empty threat and yet it felt as if it had become a little more. It didn’t look as if he was going to show up to the signing, even if Connie had it in her mind that she was going to have seen him at some point during the event. She continued to look towards the door. 

Even when she took her position beside Max at the table, she sat herself down and signed the books that she was being given, with the idea in her mind that Steven was going to tumble through the door at any minute with some kind of heart-hearted apology. Except, it wouldn’t be - knowing Steven he would have made a whole song and dance about it. That was just what he did. 

She hoped that even though they were currently in the middle of a fight that if he did come and show himself in front of the fans that they could keep up some kind of happy facade. It wouldn’t have been good for the sales of the book if everyone thought that they were going to break up or if the couple the book was about were at each other’s throats. 

“I don’t think he’s going to come, ConCon. It’s okay.” Max gently placed her hand on her best friend’s shoulder, noticing how often she was staring at the door. Max desperately wanted to text Steven and ask him where the hell he had gotten to, but she knew not to get herself too involved in the mess that they had both made with the situation that they had put themselves in. 

“I don’t care if he comes or not.”

“I don’t think that’s true. You want him here.”

“No, I don’t!” Connie snapped back, wishing that Max wouldn’t put words in her mouth. Having Steven at the event was the last thing that she would have wanted. Especially when there were a bunch of people in a line that would have all loved to have met him. 

Perhaps that was also another problem that they couldn’t help but have? That was going to have been an unsolvable problem. Something that neither of them would have been able to fix. 

“Well, it kind of seems like you do. Have you texted him?” 

“I’m not going to text him. I don’t want to speak to him.” Connie shook her head, her heart aching at the words. She couldn’t quite believe that she would have ever said such a thing...not about Steven. It didn’t feel right. 

“Right. Well. You can’t hate one another forever. You should just do what they do in movies where they fuck and then make up.” Max knelt on her closed fist as they waited patiently for the signing to start. 

“Max! That’s...that’s the last thing I’m thinking of! I just said I didn’t want to speak to him!”

“I never said anything about  _ speaking _ to him.” Max huffed as she rolled her eyes. 

Connie began the signing. Realising that having Steven as a buffer between her and the people who came up to the table was a good thing to have. Although they were mostly there to see him, it was nice for him to bounce questions off them too. Max didn’t quite have the same impact as Steven Universe. 

People had already started to ask where Steven was, which the more they did the more angry she became with the situation. All of these people loved him. They weren’t even there for her book to read about  _ her _ . They were there for Steven, she was a nobody compared to him. It didn’t matter what she had written about him inside of the book - they would have loved him regardless. 

Connie would have been the one in the wrong if any of the fans had found out what she had written and how upset he was when he had found out. It was his fault for not being more explicit. It was his fault for getting upset over a simple sentence! It was his fault for reacting the way that he did! He didn’t have to freak out in public and then continue to argue with her back at the hotel, it was just uncalled for! 

Connie took a deep breath, feeling the nauseating feeling once more. This time she knew it was about Steven. Everything about him was making her infuriated. It was something that was only going to add to the stress, there was no way that it wouldn’t. Just another thing to cause her to vomit. Luckily, she managed to keep the sickness to nothing more than a feeling for the time being. 

As if Connie’s mind was connected to the love of her life, it wasn’t long before she looked up at the door once more and noticed a man walk in with what looked to have been a bouquet of flowers. The particular man that had walked in was no other than Steven Universe. Son of Rose Quartz, frontman of Star Destroyers and most importantly - Connie Maheswaran’s boyfriend. 

Steven had barely made it through the door, looking past the crowd and standing in the doorway with a sympathetic smile. Connie stared ahead, looking at him with what felt like an open mind. Steven knew that Connie should have been the one to apologise for what she had put inside of the book, but he was the one that was willing to kickstart that - despite being incredibly mad. He had pushed himself all around town before finally settling on the cheesy gift of flowers.

“Guys! Steven is here!” One of the many people inside of the crowd used a raised voice to announce his arrival. 

Steven’s eyes simply disconnected from Connie as she got lost behind the crowd as they shuffled forward, taking all of their attention from Connie and putting it on him - it was most certainly not what he wanted to do. 

He wanted to try and get to Connie - without being mobbed by the fans that sometimes plagued his entire existence. He wanted to go to his girlfriend and tell her that he was sorry for all of the things he said and that he would try and get...over it. 

He bit his lip at the thought. He couldn’t. He was so angry! He had to. Why would she love him if he never forgave her? He had to! At the very least, for the sake of their relationship.

“Steven, can we get a photograph?”

“Hey! Steven!”

“Steven Universe!”

“It’s so cool to see you in person!”

“I was at your show the other week - it was really cool!”

“I have Pizza Pizza Pizza Pineapple on repeat all day every day when I’m at school!” 

Steven stood with everyone around him. An overwhelming amount of people filled both his mental headspace and the physical space around him. There was no escape. He had to do what he did best - his job. 

“Hey! Guys! I’m just trying to hang out here, one at a time! Come on!” Steven tried his hardest to control the crowd. It wasn’t as if there were any more people in the room than the number of people who would usually show up at his signings when he was at shows. A mixture of plenty of different people. 

The flowers Steven was holding didn’t last very long at all, practically swept out of his hands and immediately ending up on the floor amongst all of the chaos. It wasn’t as if he was going to have been able to give them to Connie now. 

That had been a complete waste of time. 

Steven smiled as a camera was pointed at his face, holding his arm around a deserving fan. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want to spend time with the people who adored the work that he put in, but it was most certainly horrible timing. Especially with everything that was going on with Connie. 

“This is ridiculous.” Connie shook her head in anger, seeing Steven practicality being mobbed by the number of people surrounding him. He seemed to have it under control, but suddenly there was nobody at the signing table in front of Connie - completely proving her point. 

Max didn’t quite know what to do in the situation, but she certainly wasn’t going to have sat around and done nothing. Didn’t this bookstore have some kind of security for things like this?

Wait. Was Max the security? She was probably the only kind of bumper she had between the two of them. 

“Right. Time to do my job.” Max sighed as she clambered out of her seat and climbed onto the table. 

“What are you doing?” Connie suddenly gripped onto her leg, worried about what Max may have done. It could have been anything knowing her. 

“My job, my dad taught me this when I was younger and I’ve always wanted to do it.” Max smirked down at Connie as she placed both her index fingers into either side of her mouth before whistling loudly, causing the noise to bounce around the entirety of the room. 

Most of the crowd stopped at the noise, taking their attention from Steven and focusing back on the girl in the beanie that was now standing on a table. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t spent most college parties standing on furniture. 

“Haven’t any of you been to a library before? You’re supposed to be quiet! I know this is a store, but that’s beside the point! Shut up and come and get your books signed by the lovely Connie Maheswaran before I completely call this whole thing off!” Max stated, raising her voice slightly to get across to the masses. 

The crowd all stared at one another, Steven looking up and seeing Max on the table from the other side of the sea of people. He knew that she had done that so he could finally get to grips with the mission that he was currently on - to see Connie.

Nobody. Nobody wanted to go back to the table. Not after Steven had entered and Max had shouted. Everything was a little too awkward now to have continued. There was nothing more any of them could have said or done that wouldn’t have made the event any more awkward than it had already become. 

But they still wanted to take photographs with Steven. They still wanted to ask about his involvement in the book. About future shows. Songwriting. Social media. Guitars. Music. Anything. Anything that wasn’t...Connie. 

Connie stood up from her chair, picking up her bag that was under the table and swinging it over her shoulder. 

“Uh, where are you going? You’re signing.” Max furrowed her eyebrows, as much as she knew that Connie was upset with everything that Steven had done at the event and beyond that, she didn’t have any right to walk away from what was her job. 

“There’s no point, Max. It’s over. Steven’s here now anyway, it’s not as if they even give a  _ shit  _ about the book!” Connie pointed over at Steven who was still smiling with the crowd, attempting to make some kind of escape whenever he could. Max looked up and noticed the tears in her eyes, ones that hadn’t just recently formed. They had been there a while. 

“Connie…”

“No! I don’t want to do this anymore, I didn’t think it was going to be like  _ this _ !” Connie’s voice cracked as she spoke, once again making her point by gesturing towards the crowd. 

Max was speechless. Unsure how she could have helped in the situation other than to try and be there for her friend.

“Maybe you should go and wait out the back? I’ll call this off.” Max furrowed her eyebrows, she knew that at the very least she would have been able to help in that respect. After all, it was her job to make sure that the event was going smoothly. 

Connie didn’t bother to respond as she walked to the back of the bookstore, trying to compose herself. She was going to cry, regardless of what the outcome of everything was. She was too upset at Steven! Too upset with the book! Too upset with the whole world and how it was always against her, no matter how hard she tried! Even then, she still felt sick! So sick, all of the time! Everything was wrong!

She sat down on a small chair that was near the staff area, luckily there was nobody else around. It wasn’t as if she wanted to have been disturbed by some unsuspecting staff member. They worked in a retail store - they probably already had enough of stupid people. Just as much as Connie had done over the time she had been involved with writing and the book tour. 

There was a quiet sob to be heard as she held her head in her hands. Everything had gone so wrong. Was there anything else that the world wanted to throw at her now? There was nothing that could have possibly made it any worse! 

“Connie?” A quiet voice sounded, the only other noise to be heard was the sound of a door gently opening. 

Connie didn’t bother to respond, knowing that it was Steven that had come to console her in one of the many ways he found fitting. At least this time she wasn’t going to let him use her sadness as an excuse for him to have sex. It wasn’t like that. That was  _ one _ time and it had never happened ever again - thankfully. 

“Max said you were back here, she’s just...cleaning up that mess.” Steven scratched the back of his neck as he slowly stepped forward, wanting to be as casual as he possibly could as he found himself in the presence of the person who currently made his blood boil. 

The internal battle between currently disliking the person that you loved. The anger was unbearable. He didn’t want to feel the things he was currently caught up in. They weren’t nice thoughts and he most certainly didn’t want to be the one who was thinking them. It sucked. 

“Why did you have to come? It was going fine without you!” Connie barked, looking up from her hands and showing Steven her tear covered face. The sight made his inside ache - he hated it when she cried. 

“I thought I’d come to support you - like I always have!” Steven shrugged before giving her a look of confusion. It wasn’t as if he would have ever wanted to have missed one of her events. Not really. He would have always been there to support her, no matter how mad he was internally. 

“You shouldn’t have!”

“Well, I can go if you want me to.” 

“It doesn’t matter now! You’ve already ruined it. You always ruin it! Nobody even cares about what I’ve written, they only care about you!” Connie couldn’t hold herself back anymore, despite it having been one of the conversations in the past, it was now the point in time where she had to let her true feelings come out. There was no way that she would have been able to hold them in when the only thing she could think about was how angry she was with him. 

Now and in the past. He shouldn’t have come to any of her signings. He always brought attention to himself for no good reason. Nobody wanted to be there for the book! At least, that was how she felt. 

“It’s a book about us both, Connie! You were the one who wrote it, why are you blaming me for that?” Steven tapped his chest, filled with confusion as to why they were arguing this time. 

It was Connie’s choice to include him in her writing. The editor had even pushed to have his surname in the title so that people knew who the book was about. Something that she originally wasn’t sold on the idea of having, but they had been pretty convincing on the fact.

They probably wouldn’t have let her publish it without it. It was a good way to gain readership - something that Steven had always been concerned about. Just like everyone else in his life, he couldn’t help but feel as if Connie was using the book to use him. To get to him and to torment him. Making his life more of a living hell than it already was when it came to the people that continuously decided to bother him in his life. 

That wasn’t the case. He knew it wasn’t the case and yet he still allowed for his mind to think of such a thing. 

It was stupid. He was stupid. 

“Because you’re always here and people are always here to see you!”

“They're here to see you as well!”

“No, they’re not, nobody cares about me!”

“I care about you!” 

“You know that’s not what I meant!” Connie sighed, raising her voice above what was considered an acceptable level. 

“I don’t know what you mean about a lot of things anymore. One moment you want me to be there all the time and the next it sounds as if you think life would be better if I just...didn’t exist?” Steven pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“I’m thinking that’s not a bad option right about now.” Connie mumbled under her breath. He was being childish. 

“At least I didn’t put your sex life in a book and publish it for thousands to see.” 

“I did put my sex life in there!”

“No, you didn’t! It was brief. Subtle!”

“So was the part I mentioned about yours!” Connie yelled back. If anyone was in any of the other back rooms at the bookstore they would have heard the whole argument. 

“Your parents are going to read this! What are they going to think of me now? It’s going to be even worse than it is now!” 

“Why are you always so caught up about them? Stop it!”

“No! I want to be a part of your life and no matter what I do, they won’t let me.”

“We live together, Steven! Why does that even matter? This isn’t about my parents.”

“What is it about?”

“Me, you and our lack of awareness and respect for communication. The fact that no matter what - everything is always about  _ you _ .” Connie stepped forward and harshly jabbed him in the chest with her finger. 

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes it is. Always. It always has and always will be about you, Steven.  _ Everything _ .” 

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“Okay, well tell me that there isn’t practically a mob of  _ your _ fans out there?”

“They’re your fans too!”

“No, they’re not. They’re there because they think you’re here. Every single signing, it’s always about you.”

“Oh, come on! I can’t help being me, I  _ asked  _ if you wanted me to come or not!” Steven expressively touched his chest in frustration and what felt like confusion. 

Connie turned away, not wanting to get herself into any more confrontation than was needed. The last thing on her mind would have been to have continued to fight him on the subject matter, but it was the only thing she could think about doing. 

“I don’t-”

“You don’t want me here, do you?” 

“N-no, I want you here.” Connie couldn’t face him.

“Don’t lie to me! I know you don’t want me at any of these signings.” Steven could feel himself getting tearful at the thought. 

“I never said that!”

“That’s how it feels. That’s what you want to say.”

“I don’t, I just...I need some time.” 

Steven’s entire chest felt tight as if he was suffocating under the weight of his problems. He never thought Connie would have said something like that to him - ever.

“Time?” Steven was mad. He wasn’t mad enough for them to take a break. There was no need to pause their relationship - right?

Connie copied his previous action of pinching the bridge of her nose, noticing that he continued to press on despite her wanting to drop the subject. 

“Stop trying to fight me on everything!”

“I’m not!”

“You’re doing it again!” 

“Ugh! I just don’t get any of this! It’s like...you don’t even care how this makes me feel! Do you even care that what you wrote about me could end everything I’ve worked towards? Everything!” Steven raised his voice once more. 

Connie turned around and picked up her bag that she had haphazardly thrown on the floor. She couldn’t be in the room with him. She couldn’t be anywhere with him. 

“I’m going to stay with Max tonight...” Connie confirmed, without turning towards him.

“Oh...I mean...okay?” Steven didn’t know how to feel. 

“I’ll see you in the morning.” Connie didn’t even bother to turn around and acknowledge him as she walked past him with her head down, unable to see past his shoes. 

Steven stood speechless, unable to process what it was he wanted to say. He could have said anything to try and get her to stay. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even know if he wanted her to say and that felt...horrible. 

What was he going to do? 

Standing alone in the middle of the room with nothing but the notice boards on the walls and a half-broken chair to keep him company. He took a deep breath and looked around. What was he supposed to do now? 

What was he supposed to do now that he was...alone? 

He stared down at his shoes and held his hands into his pockets, biting down on his lip as a way to stop himself from crying. He never wanted Connie to have to feel that way about him and yet there he was...all alone. 

“We’re going. It’s over.” Connie gripped onto Max’s arm as a way to let her know that they were going to head back to the hotel. Max wasn’t going to fight a point and argue with Connie anymore, the mixture of sadness and anger in her eyes telling her otherwise. 

“Okay, let me just pack up the shit and we’ll head out.” Max confirmed, making sure that they didn’t leave any of the promotional material behind. That would have been just another disaster after another. 

Connie didn’t want to wait around and help with packing everything up - she wanted to be out of the bookstore as soon as possible so that she wouldn’t have to run into Steven again. She didn’t want to be in the presence of him, not now - not any time soon. There was no way of getting away from him when they were destined to complete the tour together. 

After hesitantly packing up as quickly as she could, Connie and Max made their way back to the hotel - not even bothering to wait for Steven or question where he may have gone. It felt unreasonable, but Connie wasn’t going to wait around to be shouted at about something ridiculous. 

The book was published! Realistically, there was nothing that she could do to solve the issue that he had created within his mind. She was frustrated with his behaviour just as much as he was frustrated with her. They couldn’t bear to be around one another. 

Unlike Max and Connie, Steven didn’t go back to the hotel straight away. He wandered the streets of Albuquerque hoping that nobody would pick up on who he was and bother him. He just wanted to be alone. He just wanted to have time to gather his thoughts as he strolled through the streets. 

He had decided that he was going to walk back to the hotel, as opposed to getting a Toober or even a bus. He wasn’t ready to head back just yet. 

Connie placed her bag on the end of Max’s bed, happy to have been staying with her best friend that night. 

“What the hell happened? You can talk to me about it - I don’t judge.” Max shrugged as she sat on her bed and looked over at Connie who was still stressfully sorting through her bag. 

“It’s stupid. He’s just mad because I put something in the book that he didn’t approve of. He never specifically told me to not put it in there.” 

“Did he not read it?”

“He read the first draft.” Connie sighed, realising where her error may have come from. 

“What did you write?”

“I mentioned a line about him sleeping with other women and how many there had been in the past. My editor pushed me to add something like that in and I guess I was stupid enough to accept! He never said that I couldn’t mention it, but it’s such a small line that I’m sure nobody is going to pick up on it. He started ranting about how it was going to ruin his career!” Connie clenched her fists together in frustration. 

“The scene’s pretty rough, dude. If anyone were to ever call him out about the people he’s slept with, you’ve basically just confirmed it. You’ve taken away his only line of defence.” 

“Why would that ever happen?”

“Because people  _ love _ cancel culture. It’s just what goes in this music scene. Do you know how many shows I’ve had cancelled because the frontman got called out for sexual assault? Too many. Some of them come back as fake - others...not. It’s awful and I’m sure that Steven doesn’t want to be lumped in with that. We know that he's not that kind of guy, but the thousands of angry trolls online don't know that.” Max explained something that Connie wasn’t quite aware of previously. She knew that the scene had its problems...but never like that. 

“I thought everyone knew that he...slept around.” The words felt sour on her tongue.

“Uhhh...yes...but not to that extent. I knew he’d been with a bunch of people - but those were mostly rumours. Shit's rough in the scene, I'm telling you. Some of the cancelled bands out there haven't been able to make any new music without being shunned. Even the bands that kick the problematic member out - the name is tainted and they can't make music anymore. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many bands I used to listen to that...I can't listen to anymore. At least, not in any way where they would get paid for it.” Max adjusted the beanie on the top of her head as she struggled with a sympathetic expression. 

“Oh. He still shouldn’t have...acted the way that he does! He shouldn’t have even bothered to show up!” Connie stressed as she tried to find something more to be mad at Steven about. 

“Look, you should talk to him. I can’t stand to see you argue - frankly, it’s annoying and new and I hate it.” Max pouted.

“Not today. I’m not apologising. I’m staying here.” Connie wanted to make sure to stand her ground. There was no way she was going to accept anything different. She wasn’t going to budge. 

“Okay, well - suit yourself. Just don't cuddle me in bed, I'll freak out.” Max shrugged, thinking about how it was likely that she wouldn’t have been able to make it through the night without crawling back into his room. 

Steven had spent a long time wandering around the city, trying to figure out what he had done wrong in the scenario other than exist. Why did he have to fight with Connie? It wasn’t as if they had ever really fought one another before. Only small arguments that didn’t mean anything. 

Unlike the movies, he had never been forced to stay and sleep on the couch after he had done or said something that would upset her. It was such a rare occurrence that by the time it had happened and it was time for bed, they had apologised to one another and cuddled up regardless. 

Except, tonight - the room felt empty and cold. The only person inside of the room was Steven. He knew that Connie was on the other side of the wall and he consistently checked his phone to see if she had texted him - nothing. He had even pressed his ear up against the wall at one point but heard nothing but the television on the other side. 

Steven laid in bed and turned off the light. It had been the first night in the past couple of years where he wasn’t sharing the bed with Connie - or at least saying goodnight to one another before they did go to bed as she had done when he was on short tours she couldn’t attend or she had gone to visit her parents. 

This time was different. This time he was alone in the bed. 

He curled up under the covers and turned over, just as he always did - ready to snuggle up to the person he loved only to realise that tonight they weren’t there. What had he done? 

He slowly took the pillow from the other side of the bed and hugged it tightly, tears trickling down onto the sheets. He had gotten so used to being with Connie that the idea of being away from her broke his heart. He should have shut up. He shouldn’t have mentioned anything. He had ruined it all and now she hated him. He should never have even gone on the tour with her, all he did was ruin it!

He didn’t want to be without Connie. 

He didn’t want to be alone. 

On the other side of the wall, Connie laid in the bed beside Max - staring up at the ceiling and thinking over the entire day. She had every right to have been mad with Steven in return, it would have been silly for her not to have been. Although, perhaps she should have been a little less harsh on him. 

There were so many regrets flooding through her mind and suddenly, she missed him more than ever. It took every nerve in her body to stay right there, fighting her ground. If she had gone back to him just like that, it wouldn't have taught him anything. It wouldn't have taught either of them anything about the argument that they had. 

If anything was going to have come out of it, it was going to have been that neither of them wanted to experience it again. 

Connie checked her phone to see if Steven had sent her a text. Nothing. No missed phone calls - nothing. 

Despite having Max sleeping right beside her, she felt so alone without him. She couldn't have even begun to figure out how he must have felt about it. 

They were alone and there was nothing that either of them was willing to do about it. 

Connie turned over and closed her eyes, a sure way of stopping the tears from flooding out. She didn't realise that being without Steven would have hurt so bad. 

Let us all just appreciate this beautiful artwork that greatly represents this chapter by @Blissfali - they deserve all the love, so go and give them a follow on Instagram <3 Thank you so much. 


	8. San Francisco, CA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Connie Maheswaran to feature on Philip Butler's podcast! It isn't quite the best time, considering the current circumstances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put the chapter out a day early because...happy holidays or whatever! 
> 
> This chapter is sponsored by Audibility.com, you can get a thirty-day free trial by using the code 'PHILIPB' at the checkout.

"This dude used to be in the big leagues back in the day. I've read a bit about him, he mostly focused on musicians back in the nineties. My dad used to watch his show. Turns out after thirty years of doing music he wanted a change and decided to start doing these podcasts about authors. He even had a book about it, do you think he hosted his own podcast about his own book or do you think someone else did it for him?" Max looked up from her phone as she spoke, reading through Philip Butler's Wiki page for all of the information that she needed on the man. It was best to sike someone out before you went to go and see them, especially if you were going to be in their domain. 

At least, that's what Max thought was the best option. 

"I haven't really thought about it." Connie spoke a little quieter than usual, still trying her hardest to compose herself for one of the most nerve-wracking interviews of her entire life. She knew that it was going to have been tough, but she was terrified of saying the wrong thing. 

Not only that, but she had a lot of other things on her mind. Mostly...Steven and not in the way that she was used to. 

"It's going to be important that you spend your time trying to plug your book the most, that's where you're going to be driving home the sales. It'll probably be important for you to mention the fact that you're going on a tour across the states. That will encourage more people to come out to the signings. It's going to be so cool!" Max made sure to go into the professional mode that she had been taught before reverting to her old carefree self. It was important to show both sides to Greg. This wasn't just a tour about going with her friend, she was also working! 

"I know. I'll plug the book where I can." Connie sighed, staring out of the window of the Toober as they drove from the airport to the bookstore they were visiting that day. It was later on in the afternoon that they would have been recording the podcast with Philip Butler. 

Steven sat on the opposite side of the car to her, Max in the middle. He could tell that she was incredibly stressed and he knew that their argument wasn't helping the cause by any means. They hadn't even spoken to one another since they had been together at the back of the book store, practically shouting at one another. 

Steven's heart ached at the thought of never being able to speak to Connie again. He knew that wouldn't have been the case, but it was just some of the anxiety that was on his mind. 

There was nothing that Steven wanted to do more than to take Connie home, tuck her into their comfortable bed and look after her until she felt better. As much as he wanted to do that - Connie was far too stubborn to ever comply with something like that. She wasn't going to give up on the tour no matter what. Even then, Steven wasn't sure that she would have even allowed him to go within two foot of her at that moment in time. 

They all knew that being inside of the Toober only meant that within a few moments they would have been taking their suitcases out of the back and piling them into the bookstore. It would have been more sensible for them to have gone to their hotel first, but they were strapped for time. It was going to be a lot easier for them to have taken all their things with them, especially considering that half of the suitcases they were taking with them were full to the brim with books and promotional content. 

Going to the bookstore wouldn’t have been an issue, by this point - Connie was beginning to get used to it. 

It always seemed to have been the same thing that happened over and over again. Although, meeting new fans was becoming a different experience every single time. The longer the book had been out, the more likely it was that the people who were looking at her book or showing up at the signings were already reading what she had to say. The previous day's experience had thrown her off course. 

As much as Connie really didn't want Steven to have been sat beside her, she was worried that nobody would have shown up if he didn't at least...sit there. It pained her. She hated it. She didn't have a choice. She smiled through it, pretending everything was okay. 

Connie was glad that during the early afternoon in the bookstore, giving her enough time to prepare for the interview later on. Despite going to complete what felt like one of the scariest interviews of her entire life, things inside of her mind were not chewing her apart as much as they had been the past couple of days. The only thing that had been bothering her was Steven. She couldn't shake the thoughts of how much tension they currently held between them. 

Steven sat beside her at the signing table, Max on the other side. It had quickly become their usual arrangement and Connie was a little unsure how else they could have shuffled. It would have been weird to have Max in the middle of the table, she couldn't get away from Steven even if she wanted to. He was always there. 

“You're going to be okay in the interview with Steven, right?” Max whispered slightly as they came to the end of the signing, less people starting to appear. 

Max had noticed the tension between them and how it had an impact on the signing. There wasn't much to have taken note of - but they hadn't spoken to one another throughout the entire time they had been at the table together. Usually, Steven would have pointed fans back in the direction of Connie. This time, he didn't bother. 

"He's going to be in the interview?" Connie's eyebrows dipped at the thought. Despite Steven having gone to the bathroom, she still felt the need to keep her voice low. 

"I don't know for certain, but he's in a book a lot. I've seen some of these Philip Butler interviews. He wants as many people there as possible. Don't be surprised if he asks." 

"Can't you do anything?" Connie panicked slightly at the thought of having to pretend to be a happy couple. Usually, they were - today was very different. 

"I can't control  _ Philip Butler _ . That dude did the Ice Bucket Challenge before any other celebrity caught on. He's powerful." Max scoffed. 

"Ugh, I hate this." Connie groaned, once again being irritated by her anxious stomach. Constant nausea. She was angry at herself for feeling that way despite not being able to do anything about it. The situation with Steven was not helping her cause. 

"Can't you two just make up? I know it's hard on you both, but you're just making things worse. He tried to bring you flowers, isn't that romantic enough?" Max folded over her arms, a little confused why her best friends couldn't just kiss and make up. 

"We argued too, remember? We didn't speak for days!" Connie sighed as she recalled the memory. 

"Then we made out in an elevator and you remembered how much you loved me. Can't you just do that with Steven?" Max laughed. 

"We didn't make out!"

"Sorry, I meant  _ made up _ . Look, either way - we got over it once you stopped being so stuck up your own asshole." 

Connie wanted to defend her point, but Connie had been selfish to Max in that scenario. She deserved that one to have been thrown out at her. It hadn't helped being reminded of it though. 

"I'm just...this tour is super stressful and Steven doesn't help."

"Tell him to go home then."

"No! I can't do that!" Connie practically gasped. 

"There's your problem." Max sighed, knowing that no matter how much she tried to convince her friend that things would have been better if they just apologised, she never would have listened. 

"It's complicated."

"I can tell, it's doing my nut in." Max grumbled, not wanting to openly admit how much the whole argument was getting on her nerves but did anyway. "Anyway, chin up, buttercup. Tell me how much fun you're going to have at this interview later." 

“Yeah, it’s going to be  _ really _ fun.” Connie spoke in a sarcastic tone, taking a deep breath and sighing heavily. 

"You could have at least pretended." Max furrowed her eyebrows as she placed her elbows on the table in front of her and covered her mouth with a closed fist. She looked towards Connie for some kind of reassurance. 

“It’s really exciting.” Connie paused for a moment, she had read somewhere that saying positive things could make you believe them a little more. “I’m really excited.” 

It was hard for Max to believe that her words were genuine. She knew they were lies. 

“I can see you're trying, but it's not working.” Max snorted, seeing straight through Connie’s sarcasm. 

“Hey, you can't knock me for trying.” Connie forced a smile, wanting Max to immediately drop her case. She was so happy that she was going to have been able to go onto a podcast with an industry legend. That would have boosted the sales of her book and promoted the tour. Everything about it was bound to have been great. Except...Steven. 

“I'll give you a little bit of credit, I guess.” Max knew that she wasn’t convinced by what Connie was telling her, it was only a matter of time before Connie’s nerves came through and the whole world would have been able to see how unhinged she had become since writing the book. 

Heading over to the studio where Philip Butler recorded his weekly podcasts featuring a bunch of different guests had been interesting. They noticed that it was practically on the other side of San Francisco meaning that they had to make sure that they were there on time. 

Meeting an industry giant was a huge opportunity and one that none of them was going to have passed up - especially Max. This was one of her opportunities to have gotten her foot in the door and made an impression with everyone else in the industry. With how things were going, she was hoping that she would have a lot more people with her business card in their wallet. 

She wanted the promotion and she was going to get it. 

Upon arriving outside of the gated entrance to a huge building, Max pressed one of the buttons on the wall so that they could be granted access to the property. Steven and Connie were quickly reminded of the gates up to the house that hosted the huge party back in L.A. Things had been different back then, but it didn’t stop the memory from flashing through their minds. 

Just like the journey over, they walked up the path towards the industrial-looking building in silence. It was the pathway to Philip Butler’s recording studio that he conducted all of his work in. 

Philip was a pretty big industry giant back in the day, meaning that he worked with a lot of famous musicians in the eighties and beyond. It was only in recent years that he had focused all of his attention from music and onto his love for reading. It was a steady change of pace for the man, but he was loving every moment doing something that wasn’t completely revolving around music. Except, it was in this very instance that he wanted to know more about the book that was causing a storm by Connie Maheswaran. 

As soon as the door was open, they were all greeted by the one and only Philip Butler. The man that they often saw doing some sort of show on television or presenting in one way or another. The book podcasts that he had set up was just one of the many projects that he was currently working on. 

“Welcome! You must be Connie Maheswaran!” Philip held out his hand, ready for her to shake. Connie reached out and gripped firmly only his hand, giving it a strong shake. Philip was a little surprised by the gesture but respected it greatly. 

Fame had never really been something that Connie felt uncomfortable around because of Steven. Although, seeing Philip Butler after so many years seeing him on the television felt so...weird. It was strange to see someone who was always on the television. Someone who was always in the public eye - even more so than Steven. A  _ lot  _ more! 

“It’s very nice to meet you. Thank you for asking us to come.” Connie smiled politely, wanting to make good first impressions. 

“It’s my pleasure, I’m incredibly excited to have you on the show.” Philip nodded as he positioned himself so that he could see Max. She slowly reached out her hand to make sure that he was inclined to shake it. He gave a firm grip on her hand and shook, immediately taking her by surprise. “Nice to meet you, which one of you is Max?” 

Philip glanced between both Steven and Max, attempting to find his answer. Philip was quick to shake hands with Steven to make acquaintances as quickly as he could. Building rapport with the people that you were going to have interviewed made sense. It was the best way to get the best performance out of them. 

“That’s me.” Max pointed to herself before quickly adding. “Gender-neutral names are a lot more efficient at the end of an email chain.” 

Philip stared at her for a moment, hearing the genuine tone coming from the person that he had just met. He smiled, noticing the pep that Max had in her tone. There was no way that he wasn’t going to have enjoyed the company of them all. 

“That’s excellent. You seem very efficient in what you do.” 

“It’s my job. I do my best.” Max shrugged as Philip put all of his attention onto Steven for a moment. 

Steven felt a little intimidated as Philip stared at him. He wasn’t going to have given up on the fact that his mind was currently attempting to process inside of his mind whether or not he had seen Steven in his life before. It was incredibly important to make sure that he hit the mark. 

After coming across so many faces day in and day out, it was surprising that Philip had recognised Steven in some aspect. Steven looked away, trying not to feel too awkward as the man continued to stare at him with an uncomfortable glare. Connie noticed how intensely the man was staring.

“You’re the boyfriend in the book, right?” Philip squinted as he tried to clock onto who Steven was. 

“Uh...yes?” Steven didn’t know what to say. 

“You’re Rose Quartz’s son?” The question came out like a bullet, propelling through Steven faster than he could fathom. Steven blinked rapidly, realising that was the same response that he had to most things revolving around his mother. 

“That’s me!” Steven nervously pointed to himself with a smile, wanting to be as goofy about the scenario as possible. Max and Connie quickly exchanged glances, knowing just how awkward Steven was being. 

“Oh my! You look just like your mother, I can’t believe that you’ve come here today - that’s excellent! How would you like to be featured on the podcast too?” Philip got a little too close to Steven, making him uncomfortable. 

“What?” Connie's expression suddenly dropped. Max had already spoken about the possibility of Steven being on the show - but she had hoped that wouldn't have been the case. It would have made things more uncomfortable than they needed to have been. 

“Isn’t this Connie’s book?” Steven laughed anxiously as he attempted backing up to get away from the man, gently lifting his hands to in front of his chest for some kind of defence against the man. 

“It’s mostly about  _ you _ , though! It would be fantastic to have you featured on the podcast. It would be great to hear the story from both of your perspectives so we can gain a clear image of the lovely story that you’ve written. We want to hook the reader in, y’know? We can do that with a good bit of old fashion  _ love _ !” Philip was quick to make assumptions and ruin the image of the interview in Connie’s mind. 

What was the fun if all of the attention was focused on Steven? It wasn’t even his book! He didn’t write it! She was a little angrier over the situation than she had wanted to admit, but she needed to keep her cool. There was no need to get excessively angry. Was there? 

Connie felt a little frustrated and wound up over the situation, wishing there was something that she could have done to prevent everything that she was hearing from happening. It would have been the only way for her to have recovered from the mental battering that came from people not wanting to read her book for...her. 

Steven was in the book a lot because that’s who the book was about, but that didn’t mean that the main focus and reasoning behind the book was one that came deep within herself. She wanted people to have been able to relate to her in the situation - not Steven.

It wasn’t as if she was simply a ghost-writer for Steven’s story. That wasn’t the case at all. 

Steven felt a twinge of guilt as he looked over at Connie sympathetically. It wasn't his intention to be in the spotlight. He wanted this to be Connie's time to shine. It was important for her to be out in the open, living the way that she wanted to live and sharing her life experiences with others. Just because they were currently in a place in their relationship where they were strained, it didn't mean that he had stopped wanting the best for her. He wanted her to be happy. 

At least, he thought that was what he wanted. 

Steven respected the fact that Connie was able to live openly in that forum, something that he had hidden away from others his entire life. It was good to keep his anonymity, but there was so much that he wanted to do with his life. If he hadn't been in his band then it was likely that he would have never met Connie. 

Some things in life were worth sacrificing for others. It was hard to know what was going to be right around the corner. 

"Excellent. Both of them? I'm sure we can manage that!" Max chuckled as she broke the awkward silence between them all. As much as Steven didn't want to say yes, it felt as if he didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. They probably would have forced him into making sure that he put his input in regardless of whether he wanted to or not. 

"Not a problem!" Steven laughed as he gave everyone a thumbs up, being as awkward as humanly possible. Pretending everything was fine? Yeah...he could manage that. Maybe? 

"Come in, let's get settled and then we'll do a quick run-through of what we're going to be talking about. Sounds good?" Philip asked as he pointed at Connie. She felt a sense of relief as he pointed at her directly. 

Connie nodded happily. At least, she tried to look happy about it. 

The three of them made their way into the building that housed the recording studio. Max took a moment to realise that she was walking in the footsteps of hundreds of famous people that had been on the podcast and even featured on Philip Butler’s show back in the day. Popstar after popstar - the photographs on the walls inside of the hallway were indicators of how many people he had come across. 

There were people on the walls that Max recognised. Famous people who had rocked out back before she was born. It was interesting to see them all lined up as she walked behind both Connie and Steven. 

Connie made sure that she stayed ahead. Steven was a little worried that Connie would continue ignoring him throughout the interview. It was either that, or she would put on a good facade when it came to their relationship. It wasn’t his fault that Max had accepted the interview for him, although, it was his fault that he couldn’t seem to pull out of the idea. 

Despite her somewhat cold attitude, Steven was sure that she wouldn’t have put much thought to it. It wasn’t as if he had accepted just to spite her. He wanted the floor to be all Connie’s! He knew this wasn't about him. 

They were all led into what looked to have been a small recording studio, with a booth on the other side of some glass with a large table and a lot of microphones. It was going to just be a conversation. A conversation between them and Philip Butler. Connie would have been lying if she had said she wasn’t nervous. She was terrified that her nerves were going to have caused her to be sick as they had been doing so the past week. 

“So, this is the booth we’re going to be recording in today! State of the art equipment and well, you’ll have my associates to help record us. We’ll go and sit in the booth and warm up a bit with a general conversation and hopefully, that’ll ease whatever nerves we might be having!” Philip was nice enough to address both Steven and Connie as he turned around. 

It was nice to know that he was finally speaking to them both as they stood beside one another. It was never his original intention to have included Steven, but after discovering that the son of Rose Quartz was going to have been on his podcast - it would have been perfect. 

“Sounds good!” Steven grinned with a thumbs up as he felt a gentle tug on his shirt, watching as Philip leant down to speak to the person that was behind the desk and ready to record them all inside of the booth. 

Max pulled them both to one side as Philip turned away, wanting to make sure that everyone was on the same page. 

“We’re promoting the book, right? That’s what we want and then we need to make sure to follow it up by telling everyone about the tour! I know you two aren't talking like the happy couple you are but put that shit aside. You can hate each other later.” Max nodded aggressively as she quietly spoke through her teeth, anxious that they wouldn’t have gotten to point across enough without her having to butt in and explain what it was that they needed to do. 

It was vital that they promoted the book and the tour. Podcasts like this one were the only way that they would have been able to get the word out about the tour promptly.

"That's okay with me." Steven furrowed his eyebrows, he still wasn't completely ready to give into Connie. That didn't mean he wasn't going to do his job. 

Nobody needed to know they had both cried themselves to sleep the previous night. 

“Yes, we’ll talk about the book.” Connie knew what she was talking about, it was obvious. Although, with her nerves flowing through her body she was somewhat thankful that Max had been there to remind her what her place was in the world. 

Was she truly an author about to go onto a Philip Butler podcast? Yes. 

It wasn’t exactly a dream of Connie’s until she had gotten the phone call in which it had suddenly entered her bucket list. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she knew that she would never have been able to do something like it again. It was something that she needed to seize and make sure she did correctly. 

Messing it up would have been the worst thing possible. There was no way that she could have been anything but perfect. 

All she needed to do was to swallow her nerves and make sure that she was ready enough to have gone inside of the recording studio and aced the interview. With the most recent anxiety that she had been experiencing she had plenty of nausea and sickness. The last thing she wanted was to have been sick during the interview from her nerves. 

“So, you’re both ready?” Philip turned around, his white shirt and red tie not quite going with his personality. With slicked-back white hair and a wrinkled face, it was obvious the man had been in the industry too long. He placed his hands together as he nodded towards them both.

Connie couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would have been like to have interviewed famous people day in and day out. Although, with that being said - going by that logic she was also someone who would have been considered as ‘famous’. 

That wasn’t the case. At least, not yet. 

“We’re ready.” Connie took a deep breath as she spoke, making sure that she reached out for Steven’s hand with her fingers. He gently threaded his fingers through hers at the touch, it was something that he was more than pleased to have abided by. 

If this had been any other day, Steven wouldn't have jolted slightly at the touch. Connie gave him a look as he reluctantly held her hand. The connection felt intimate in the weirdest of ways as if it had been a lifetime since they had last touched one another. Starved from the comfort of the one that they loved. 

If Steven was going to have been in the interview, as much as she didn’t want him to have taken up a lot of the questions, she was also glad that he was going to have been there throughout the whole thing for support. She was thankful that she would have been able to hold his hand, despite neither of them being particularly happy about it. 

At least, that was something sweet that would have helped calm her nerves. At the same time causing her more anxiety about their relationship. 

Steven and Connie both stepped through into the recording booth, holding hands and not bothering to look back at Max. Max stood with her arms folded before the man who was sitting in front of all the fancy looking dials and switches patting on the spinning office chair beside him, gesturing for Max to join him as they both stared through the glass. Max was happy to have accepted the offer and sat down. 

On the opposite side of the glass, Steven and Connie found themselves sitting beside one another as Philip sat down in the much comfier looking chair at the end of the oval table. Connie noticed the microphone sat in front of her, feeling a little intimidated at the sight. 

It was going to have been a stressful day, she could already tell just from the way that everything was set up. She noticed the glass of water that was situated on the table beside the microphone. Connie didn’t hesitate to instantly take a sip, attempting to rid herself of the somersaults that her stomach was doing without her permission. 

Steven brushed off his pants underneath the table and readjusted himself in the seat, noticing the microphone that was in front of him. It instantly reminded him of every show that he had been to and all the recording studios he had made music in. He had a sudden urge to shout lyrics into it. He knew that he couldn’t. 

“Alright, let’s get this podcast going. It’s going to be about forty minutes of us discussing just about anything and everything about you...two. Both of you! I’ll just have to run through my notes and adjust to add you on, Steven. Interesting. I can’t believe we got the boyfriend too! Bizarre to me that we never asked you to come anyway - this is going to make an interesting piece. The  _ Starstuck _ couple.” Philip spoke a little too quickly for their liking as he brushed his hand through his hair and took a quick look down at the paper he was reading from. 

Steven was desperate to make sure that all of the questions he answered he could bounce back to Connie. He knew that it wasn’t about him, he was sure that there was a way to make sure that Philip didn’t question him on just about everything. He didn't want Connie to hate him any more than she probably already did. 

Connie nodded with very little confidence as she turned towards Steven and gave him a small nod. It was the best way for her to communicate in the silence. 

“Right, Tim - get recording! We’re going to give it a shot!” Philip spoke into the microphone. Both Steven and Connie looked up to see the man behind the glass who was sat beside max give them a thumbs up. It was going to have been a  _ fun  _ experience for them to have been interviewed. 

Although, there wasn’t any kind of preparation that they had done together before they had gone into the interview. Connie was sure that Steven wouldn’t have spoken about anything that she wouldn’t have spoken about to be recorded and lost into the void of the internet forever. Except, they hadn’t blacklisted any conversation. It was all free game. 

All of it. 

Connie just hoped that Steven used his head before speaking about a subject, although she had apparently not given him the same courtesy. She wanted to make sure that the interview was something that she could have been proud of. At the end of the day, she was on the opposite side of the table to the one and only Philip Butler, which in itself - was an achievement. The last thing that she wanted to do was to never have been able to look back on the memory with a smile. 

This was her time to shine. 

“Ready?” Steven whispered, a part of him still wanting to be there to comfort her no matter what. It was difficult being mad at her when he missed her so much. 

“Ready.” Connie confirmed, once again with a small nod. 

Philip placed a pair of headphones on the top of his head and began to introduce the podcast, including the sponsors for that episode. Connie was sure that she had heard the advertisement for the audiobook service on pretty much anything she saw to do with books, but it continuously came up. She was surprised that the company hadn’t approached her yet in regards to having discount codes for people to have signed up. 

“This is Philip Butler on the Philip Butler podcast where we go over just about anything to do with books. This is the place where you need to be if you want to find out about the hottest new books on the market. This episode is sponsored by Audibility.com, you can get a thirty-day free trial by using the code 'PHILIPB' at the checkout. You can find all of my past podcast there along with just about every audiobook under the sun! Today, we have our very special guest - Connie Maheswaran. The girl who everyone can’t stop talking about. Her book Starstruck:An Introvert's Perspective into Loving The Universe was released last week and is already causing a storm with critics and teenagers alike. It’s a story about falling in love and finding yourself. Seems pretty mundane, right? No way! This story is an adventure of a lifetime where Connie goes into what it’s like to fall in love with...you guessed it! The frontman of the alternative rock band, Star Destroyers and son of the ever so famous Rose Quartz - Steven Universe! We’re very lucky to have the pleasure of having him with us today. It seemed like the young couple is practically inseparable, would you say that’s the case?” Philip began his long-winded spiel that continued for way longer than Steven or Connie could have imagined. They were pretty shocked as he ended it on a question. 

Connie laughed slightly as she looked over to Steven who continued to smile. 

“You could say something like that, we don’t spend much time apart…” Connie pushed through the question. 

They did spend time apart. Well, they had done last night. For the first time in their relationship over the past couple of years, they hadn't shared a bed. They hadn't even said goodnight. 

“So, tell me a little bit about yourself - this book is about your adventure to fall into love with Steven Universe. That’s gotta have been a pretty interesting story, right? It mentions in the book that you didn’t even like his music, that's a bummer!” Philip laughed at his humour. 

“Oh yeah, I wasn’t a fan in the slightest. I’d always been a pretty quiet person and it was only when my best friend thought it was going to be a good idea to drag me across America to follow a band that she liked that I met Steven. I don’t regret it for a second.” Connie shook her head. 

“That’s hilarious. Your best friend dragged you across the states to go and see a band that you didn’t even like? If my best friend did that to me, I don’t think we’d be best friends anymore!”

“Y’know, I did try to tell her that I didn’t want to go, but she’s pretty insistent. It wasn’t as if she was going to have left me behind back in college. We’re always pretty inseparable. I just don’t think she could believe it when she found out that the frontman of her favourite band was speaking to me at the bar. I had no idea!” Connie spoke about her experience with Steven. 

The first time that they had met had been an experience that Connie would have never forgotten. Being in Brooklyn that night had been one of the strangest yet best nights of her entire life. She was so thankful that Max had asked her to have gone to the bar that night, else things may not have turned out the way that they did.

Things worked out for the best and she wouldn’t have changed them for the world. Except...things right now were not how she wanted them to be. 

Connie continued to speak about her experiences on the first tour, giving enough away to entice people into wanting to buy the book. It was important to Connie that she gave people a taste of what it was like to follow a band around and fall in love, but if they wanted to know the full story then they were going to have to pick up the book. It would have been preferable if they decided to go to one of the signings too. 

Everything was going just as it should have been, Connie was getting just the right amount of questions from Philip that were allowing her to flourish in the interview. There were so many things that she would have loved to have gotten into but didn’t want to ruin everything about the book. 

Surprisingly, other than the odd comment - Steven was trying his hardest to keep quiet. The last thing he wanted was for the interview to have become about him. He had been in far too many interviews in the past and this simply wasn’t about him. If people wanted to see a Steven Universe interview then they could have quite easily have looked online. It would have been the best place for it - not a Philip Butler interview. 

“Steven - what’s it like to be with Connie? Did you expect to meet the love of your life on tour?” Philip asked the question as if it was something that he couldn’t have already figured out from the book. It was obvious how much he loved her. Anyone would have been able to see it! 

“Connie is...amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better person to spend my days with. She’s wonderful in every way imaginable and I just hope that this book will show everyone why that is.” Steven smiled over at Connie before continuing, despite everything - he was telling the truth. “I never expected to meet her on tour, but I’m really glad that I did. She's the love of my life.”

It was true. Connie's heart skipped a beat at his words. 

Despite Steven saying adorable things about her, she couldn’t help but feel just as nauseous as she had done the past couple of days. She chewed her bottom lip as a way to try not to think about how sick she truly felt. Now was not the time for her nerves and stomach to play against her. This wasn’t the time!

“You didn’t expect to? The book briefly mentions your escapades in love and pursuit to find  _ the one _ \- wasn’t this something that you tried to do whilst on tour?” Philip suddenly asked the question that hit Steven like a ton of bricks. It wasn’t something that he wanted to hear. It wasn’t something that he wanted to answer either. 

He had hoped that nobody had noticed and yet...there it was. Everyone knew. Connie had made a huge mistake. 

“I, uh...I do a lot of shows and I thought that I’d probably come across someone I could be with whilst I was there. It was just...the most likely thing. I don't do much else.” Steven didn’t want to go much further into it as he chuckled nervously, trying to sway away from his answers. 

“Like your dad, Greg Universe - right? He met your mother Rose Quartz when he was a roadie for the Gems.” 

“Yeah, I guess. Like my dad.” Steven’s heart dropped slightly at the mention of his mother and even his father. Something was unsettling about how he spoke their names. It didn’t feel...right. 

“That’s a pretty classic move - like father, like son! So, Connie had no idea who you were before you met? This isn’t exactly your classic story of falling in love with a groupie!” Philip chuckled as Connie took a sip of her water and nearly choked at his words. That didn’t help her bout of sickness. 

“N-no! Groupies usually like the music before they follow you around on tour.” Steven laughed back in response, trying to keep up with the rapport he was building with the podcast host. 

Steven noticed Connie’s thousand-yard stare across the table. Steven needed some kind of assurance that he was saying the right thing, but it didn't seem as if he was going to have gotten it from Connie. In terms of reassurance, Connie probably would have been more suited to having a bucket. 

She hated the fact that Philip had brought up her mistake. The reason why she didn't spend the evening with Steven. The reason why they were in a fight in the first place. The people that Steven had slept with. His failed pursuits at love. The mentions of it in the book. 

She felt sick. So sick. To the stomach. 

She was going to blame herself for the distance between them, despite still being mad at Steven. She was mad at Steven! He was mad at her and yet there they were...pretending everything was fine!

She felt so sick. Her stomach churned at the thought. 

“Are you a fan of his music now, Connie?” Philip questioned. 

Connie took in the question, she took another small sip of her water as a way to battle her nausea before she spoke. Little did she know, doing so would have made things so much worse. She couldn’t be sick during an interview! That was going to have been embarrassing. 

“Yeah-” Before Connie could even finish her sentence, there was twisting at the pit of her stomach. Nothing was going to have gotten rid of her nerves. 

As a way to try and get as quickly as possible out of the room before she was sick, she pushed the chair away from behind her. Steven quickly stood up to give her a broader area to run past. Except, it didn’t quite go as planned. 

Steven felt her hand slam into his chest as he stood up, rendering her unable to move any further as she gripped onto his t-shirt and vomited on the dirty Vans which were now...a lot dirtier. Steven’s eyes widened in horror at the sight before him. 

Max instantly shot out of her seat and pulled open the recording studio door as a way to have been there for her friend. Philip pushed his chair back, in both confusion and disgust. Figures suddenly rushed through his head about how much a cleaning crew was going to have cost for the carpet. Luckily for Philip, most of it had landed on Steven's shoes. 

“Connie!” Max made her way into the room and began to panic, not quite doing the best thing for the situation. 

Connie continued to grip onto Steven’s shirt, still leaning over and seeing the mess she had made of both the carpet and...Steven’s shoes. She didn’t think she had ever been so embarrassed in her entire life. She could barely get up, Steven made sure to hold her upright slightly. 

His expression had completely dropped at the sight. As much as he loved Connie - he was in complete shock with what had just happened. One moment he was happily answering questions in an interview and the next he no longer had red Vans. 

Philip stood up and gestured to the person behind the recording booth as a way to get the recording to stop. They could have always cut where they needed to and continued the interview once they had...cleaned up. 

“Steven...I’m so sorry.” Connie could barely get her words out as she attempted to stand up straight, still holding onto Steven’s t-shirt. 

Steven shook his head, not trying to take her apology for any more than her vomiting on his shoes. He was willing to push everything aside to make sure that she was okay. 

“It’s fine. It’s...are you okay? Maybe we should go and sit down?” Steven made sure to hide how shocked he was, mostly speaking about how much  _ he  _ would have preferred to have sat down. 

“Y-yeah…” Connie didn’t quite know what else to do. 

Steven wasn’t sure if he should have moved, at the very least he should have taken off his shoes. Max chewed the skin around her fingernails as she stared down at Connie in dismay. That was the final straw. If Connie was getting that sick near enough every day that they had been on tour - they needed to do something about it. Max knew she would have to force her to the doctors. It was either that, or she was going to cut the tour short. 

"Alright, let's take a thirty-minute break." Philip clapped his hands together. That would have given Steven enough time to clean his shoes. 

The interview was over for now, despite Philip not quite wanting it to be. It was eating into his precious workday. Although, in comparison to a lot of the famous people that Steven had met throughout his lifetime, Philip wasn’t anywhere near as bad as others. At least what was on the surface. In a way, he seemed like a good man. 

Connie stayed with Max as Steven went to the bathroom to clean his shoes. It wasn’t Connie’s fault that she had been sick, but he was starting to get incredibly worried about her and the stress that she was under. Was this his fault? Their argument probably hadn't helped the cause. It was causing her to be sick frequently and it was killing him to see it. 

Steven ran water over the top of his Vans to try and clean them the best he could. He knew that when he next put them on they would have been soaking, but soaking with water would have been a lot better than other substances. He had left the bathroom door open as he stood in his socks in front of the sink, only allowing for uninvited guests to come in whenever they pleased. 

In this case, that meant the one and only Philip Butler. 

“Y’know...I thought she looked a little green when she came in.” Philip laughed as he began to lean on the door of the bathroom, crossing over his arms and watching Steven as he cleaned his shoes. 

“Uh...the book tour has been pretty stressful for her. She’s been sick a lot recently.” Steven couldn’t quite figure out in his head why he was sharing that information with TV’s Philip Butler, but he didn’t quite have anyone else at the moment to help grieve over his shoes. 

“A lot? Are you sure she’s not pregnant? My ex-wife never stopped when she was having my son. Over and over, like the god damn Exorcist. Made me realise that despite them calling it morning sickness, it can happen at any time during the day. I think I probably lost some shoes at that point too. That and a lot of hair.” Philip chuckled, speaking so casually that it made Steven nearly drop his shoe in the sink. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind and he would have preferred to have kept it that way. 

“N-no, she just gets very nervous! It's happened before.” Steven defended with an awkward titter. 

“Suit yourself. Y’know...you remind me a lot of your mother when I interviewed her back in the nineties.” Philip was sudden with his words, taking Steven back slightly. 

“I do?”

“Yeah! I can show you something if you like. You can come in your socks.” Philip pointed down at Steven’s socks as he made the offer. Steven couldn’t help but look down. 

“Sure.” Steven placed his shoes into the sink, he knew he would have been returning to put them on later - despite them being nowhere near being dry. 

Philip nodded as Steven followed him through the building in his socks. Steven was a little concerned to know how Connie was doing with Max, but seeing what  _ the _ Philip Butler had to show him would have been pretty cool. Steven followed Philip until they reached a room with a black door. 

Steven was a couple of steps behind Philip when he opened the door and revealed an incredibly dark room with the walls lined with VHS tapes. Steven audibly gasped at the sight of it all, curious to know what was on each of the tapes. 

Philip walked over to a particular section of the room and began to run his finger across the tapes as a way to find what he was looking for. 

“I interviewed the Gems on one of my nighttime shows back before you were born. After reading Connie’s book it seems you still get bothered by her fans...sorry about that.” Philip’s words sounded genuine as he made an apology, pulling a tape from the shelf and stepping over to the television that was sat on a desk. 

“Thanks.” 

“Your mom and her bands were real legends, kid. That kind of popstar only comes around once in a lifetime! You might have seen this tape somewhere before, but it’s pretty rare. Unless someone recorded it then I doubt it’s about anywhere. Luckily for me - I record everything.” Philip pulled the tape from the case it was in and pushed it into the VHS player. 

Steven took a step forward and watched as the television began to run through lines of static until suddenly much younger versions of the familiar face he knew came up on the screen. He blinked rapidly as he saw his mother sitting in the middle of the couch, making sure that she kept the centre of attention. Beside her, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl. 

“What’s next for The Gems?” A much younger Philip questioned them all as he sat on a couch opposite. 

“Well, we’re pretty much going to be doing anything that’s considered fun. This world is too wonderful not to enjoy it!” Rose chuckled with a wide smile as she sat between the rest of her band. 

“World tour!” Amethyst suggested. 

“We’ll have to see about that.” Pearl corrected. 

“A world tour does seem like a reasonable request.” Garnet gave a thumbs up to Philip. 

“You heard it here first - The Gems world tour? Who knows? Either way, I heard that you all have a new song that you would like to perform today. Am I right?” Philip asked as he continued the interview. 

“We’d love to share it with you, Philip! We’ve been working on it for a while now and can’t wait for the album to be released.” Rose smiled once more, incredibly cheery in her tone. 

“Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s get you set up and then we’ll watch the performance of the year! We’ll catch you after these commercials.” Philip pointed to the camera as it panned across to his mother and then to the audience. 

Steven continued to stare at the screen as Philip leant forward and pressed the fast-forward on the tape allowing it to skip past all of the commercials that were within. Each of which were incredibly outdated by nearly thirty years. 

“Welcome back to the show, tonight we have the special guests - The Gems. They’re all set up to bring us the hottest record of 96’, but we get a sneak peek of their new single -  _ Rebellion _ !” Philip was now standing up in front of a large stage, speaking directly to the camera before stepping away and revealing the band. 

It was just how Steven remembered from when he was a kid. His mother stood up in the middle of the stage with a microphone, Garnet on the guitar, Pearl on the bass and Amethyst playing the drums. It was just how Steven remembered all of the shows with his mother. Of course, this was quite a few years before they got incredibly big. 

Rebellion was one of the songs that cemented their fame within the industry, meaning that the release was going to have been huge. Going onto Philip Butler’s show helped them considerably with sales. It was a sure way that they were going to have been able to promote their new album. It was what all of the artists did at the time to get their songs out in the open. Philip Butler had always been the one to go to for up and coming artists. 

There was a pause before the song began. Steven watched as his mother took her mark at the front of the stage and began to sing. Her voice was so beautiful. Something that Steven had gotten fed up with playing through the tinny speakers at a supermarket, but one that he remembered singing to him as a kid. The beautiful voice that always allowed him to go to sleep. 

The way that the band all moved together was a lot more graceful than whatever it was that Steven did with his own band. He liked to think that his mom would have enjoyed the music that he made and the way that he always performed with some of his best friends. It was something that was passed down, a talent that he was going to have kept safe no matter what. 

Steven had never seen the clip before in this form. He had known that his mom had been on the show before, but he had never seen the clips. The performance was fantastic and he had heard people speaking in the past about this being one of the best shows that the Gems had ever played on live television. 

It didn’t surprise him in the slightest, his mom had managed to hit every single note and potentially blow the minds of all the people in the audience. It was this performance that helped the Gems become the legends that they were today. 

“Woah…” Steven didn’t quite realise that he had spoken any words out loud, believing that he was speechless from the show that he was watching. 

He wished he could have seen his mom and the rest of the band perform one more time. It would have been amazing to have seen them all do the thing that they did best. He wondered what it would have been like to have gotten all the members together. They were all doing their own thing, but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t have eventually had some kind of reunion. That would have been good for them. 

As the performance slowly came to an end, so did the show. Philip pressed the button on the television to eject the tape. Steven stared at the static on the screen for a moment before Philip took him out of his trance. 

“I haven’t seen you perform, but if it’s half as good as what your mother could do then you must be a musical prodigy.” Philip pointed towards him with a smile. 

“Something like that.” Steven blushed. 

“I thought it was good to show you something like that. Always nice to know where you came from. Gives you a clear perspective of where you want to go.” Philip spoke happily as he placed the tape into the sleeve and turned around to push it back into the gap that was on the shelf. Steven internally wished he would have rewinded the tape before putting it back. That was annoying. 

“I think I’m okay going where I’m going. Things are good.” Steven smiled, firmly believing everything that he was saying. Things were good! Sort of.

At least, they would have been good once things got better between him and Connie. He didn't know when that would have happened, but he hoped it would have been soon. 

“Interesting marketing choice to have your girlfriend write a book about you though. I wouldn’t have thought of that one!” 

“What?” Steven suddenly focused all of his attention on Philip. 

“The book? Starstruck? It’s a great way to promote yourself and your band!” 

“Connie didn’t write that book to promote me. It’s about her.” Steven shook his head, suddenly believing that Philip had the completely wrong idea about Connie’s writing. 

“Right. I get it, you don’t want to blow your cover. All I’m going to say is - good work!” Philip chuckled. 

“Connie wrote that book for herself and for people like her who used to be too nervous to break out of their shell. It’s got nothing to do with me and my band.” Steven shook his head as a way to defend Connie, he wasn’t going to have let Philip speak about the book that way. Sure, the book had a lot of content about the band - but that was because the tour in which they had followed Star Destroyers around the states had also been the time where Connie had come out of her shell. 

“Okay. Okay. No hard feelings, but we should probably go and get the rest of the podcast recorded. I just hope someone has come in for cleanup.” Philip shuddered at the thought, no longer wanting to press Steven any further in regards to the issue with the book. 

Steven didn’t want to go any further into it, even if he had asked. 

Back inside one of the other rooms, Max sat beside an incredibly embarrassed Connie who was currently afraid to show her face to anyone. Why did she have to embarrass herself like that? It wasn’t fair. 

She was incredibly frustrated with the nervous vomiting that she had been having since the beginning of the tour. It was annoying before, but now it was starting to get her down. It was like she was a teenager again, terrifying to go to school in the morning and overcome by incredibly debilitating bouts of nausea. 

“Look, he could probably do with some new Vans anyway.” Max attempted to make the situation a little better. 

“They’re the ones he brought when we were in the UK! He was looking after them so well.” Connie sighed, in comparison to the last pair that he had - these newer ones were doing a lot better putting up with everything that Steven put them through. 

“Well, knowing Steven he’s probably going to keep them.” Max snorted. 

Connie placed her head into her hands and groaned loudly. She felt terrible, both emotionally and physically. How was she going to have been able to finish the interview when the last thirty seconds of the clip that they would have to edit down was her throwing up on Steven’s shoes? 

The interview had to go down as one of the most embarrassing moments of her entire existence. She wasn’t ready to face the world when all she could think about was what others thought of her. As if it wasn’t already bad on that front. 

Steven eventually came back into the room, his socks soaking wet from the wet Vans that he had put back on. He hoped that nobody would notice the uncomfortable squelch that his shoes made as he walked. He was quick to come into the room and stare across the room at Connie, he wanted to hug her, but knew that wasn't an option.

Was it? He wasn't sure. 

That was the issue with all of the anxiety that people held - it would have often been kept inside until it came out. In Connie’s case - it was coming out in a way that she didn’t want. There was nothing that would have helped with the way that she was feeling. Even the idea of coming off the tour gave her enough anxiety to make her feel even sicker. It was a vicious cycle. 

Connie reluctantly finished the interview the best she possibly could, allowing Philip to wrap everything up and get it all recorded enough so that it could have been posted. At the end of the interview, they made sure to plug the rest of the tour. 

Before they could leave the recording studio, Philip caught the arm of Steven making sure to pull him back. Steven was a little shocked by the gesture, trying his hardest to stand up straight after the pull. 

“Hey, Steven - I’ve got a black-tie event coming up in New York. I couldn’t help but notice that you’re in that area the day of the event and I thought that perhaps you, Connie and your associate would like to come along. It’s a good opportunity to make connections in the industry and would be beneficial for your friend looking to get into this side of the business. If it comes to it, you’re more than welcome to come to make up the headcount and drink some free champagne. It’ll be a good night! Lots of big industry buffs. You’ll love it.” Philip passed Steven a small business card between two of his fingers before patting him on the shoulder. 

Steven took the business card from his hand and stared down at it. It was completely black and labelled with an address in Long Island and a time written in gold. 

“Black-tie?” Steven cocked an eyebrow, he had never been to a fancy event like it before. 

“Get yourself a tux, have a drink and dance a little. It’s a bunch of fun! If anything, it’ll be a lovely evening with the lady.” Philip winked, patting Steven on the shoulder once more. 

“Right. Thank you!” Steven blinked down at the business card once more. He had never been invited to a party quite like it before. He wasn’t sure what to have expected. He certainly hadn’t expected someone like Philip Butler to have ever invited him to a party! 

“See you next time, Steven. Good luck!” Philip waved as Steven left to catch up with the rest of his party. He wasn’t sure what he was wishing him good luck in, but he was happy to have taken it. Philip had his theories, but only time would tell. 

Steven carefully put the business card into his pocket and made sure to catch up with Connie and Max as Max played around on her phone to try and hail a Toober. It wouldn’t have been a very long waiting time by the time they got to the end of the long driveway that the recording studio had. 

It was a short amount of time until all of them had piled into the back of the Toober to end the long day that they had all been subjected to. Connie in particular was more than ready to have curled up in a ball inside a hotel room. There was nothing she wanted to do more than to bury herself in embarrassment. Nothing would have cured that. 

Connie put her head against the glass window in the back of the Toober, Steven on the opposite side staring down at his hands in silence and Max sitting between them flicking through social media. 

Each of them knew something was happening around them that they couldn’t quite put their finger on. Something that none of them knew about yet, but had been happening the entire time they had been on tour and beyond. Something that was going to have shaken up the entirety of the trip. 

The entirety of their future. 

Little did they know that it would have been the last day before their lives changed forever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You probably know what's coming next... :^)


	9. Portland, OR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie's in denial about the truth. 
> 
> Max has to wash her hands. 
> 
> Steven...well...Steven won't wipe that stupid smile off his damn face.

“I bet you’re getting flashbacks being here.” 

“I’m not.” Steven stared over at Max as she tried her hardest not to snort with laughter. 

“So, your butt isn’t twitching?” 

“No…” 

“Maybe we should visit the Ikea...y’know...they might still have that CCTV of you falling down that escalator. I’ll have to nab it and upload it to TubeTube.”

“They’ve probably deleted it by now.”

“Maybe I’ll just use it for my personal entertainment instead.” Max pondered as she tapped her fingers against her chin. 

Being in Portland was one thing. Being in Portland and knowing what had happened to Star Destroyers the last time that they were there was another. It had taken a while for Max to have gotten the story out of them, but it certainly paid off with the amount of knowledge that she held about the fateful day. 

Connie sat beside both of them in the Toober on the way to the signing. Connie was already starting to feel sick, the feeling that she had been trying to battle the whole time. It was becoming harder and harder to think about eating, despite forcing herself to do so. Even if she didn’t want to, she would only get an earful from both Max about her needing to eat. 

She stared out at the city surrounding them. Another signing just meant another day of being told the same thing over and over. At least there wouldn’t have been an interview, which meant that she wouldn’t have run into the issue of throwing up on Steven’s shoes again. 

Since she was sharing with Max, she hadn't had to the pleasure of witnessing him with a hairdryer in the hotel room, blowing into the inside of his Vans as a way to try and dry them off. It wouldn’t have stopped them from being somewhat damp, but at least it was better than them being completely soaked through. Steven was trying not to show his discomfort - knowing that Connie felt terrible about the whole thing. 

Unsurprisingly, when they had gotten to the bookstore and set up, the entire signing event was the same as it always was. Except, once again she had spent the whole time trying to ignore Steven. Connie was lucky enough to have held herself together, considering the signing that they had attended was slightly earlier than usual. It felt good for them to have been able to take the afternoon off to do whatever they wanted to do. 

Steven was a little wary of spending his afternoon in Portland, but it was nice for him to have been able to create new memories in a place that he wasn’t completely fond of. After what had happened to him and the band that fateful day, the memories still stuck in his mind. Spending the day with Connie and Max was a sure way taking his mind off it. He would have been lying if he said he didn’t enjoy being dragged around a museum, but it was awkward enough not speaking to either of them much, if not at all. 

It had been one of the first times that they had enough time throughout the tour to go and do what they wanted to do. Luckily the flight from San Francisco in the morning was rather early and relatively short. It was nice for them to get the signing out of the way and then spend the rest of the day touring Portland. Avoiding one another as much as they could despite being in each other's company. 

The day ended with Steven relaxing in his hotel room playing a video game on his phone, once again being left alone. Things between him and Connie had been awkward and confusing. The last thing he wanted to do was convince her to come and spend the evening with him in his room. Another night spent alone and it wasn't going to get any better, Steven hated every moment of their fight. 

Connie went to hang out with Max in her hotel room to discuss where they had been throughout the day. It was interesting for both of them to have been a little nerdy and spend some time away from Steven, considering everything that had been going on between them.

Little did Max know that a lot of their time spent together would have been Connie inside of her bathroom with her head in the toilet. It was at this point that Max believed the whole fiasco had gone on long enough, they should have taken her to the doctor days ago! It was getting ridiculous and painful for Max to see. 

“Dude, this is kind of unnerving - we’ve got to take you to a doctor!” Max placed her hand on Connie’s shoulder as she comforted her in the bathroom. There was no way that she had expected to have been spending so much time looking after a sick Connie throughout the tour. It wasn’t quite what she imagined from being a promoter - but it was certainly something that she would have expected from a best friend. 

“I’m fine. I’m not going to the doctor just because I’m sick.”

“That’s the whole point of a doctor!” Max argued as she suddenly threw both of her hands out in front of her in frustration. 

“Look, it’s just stress. I used to get this all the time in high school. Especially before big exams. The tour is just super stressful and this whole thing with Steven is just making things worse.” Connie ran her fingers through her hair as she stepped past Max back into the hotel room so that she could find somewhere to sit down. She needed to grab her bottle of water to wash the disgusting taste from her mouth. 

“I really really don’t like the doctor, but at this point, even I’d start considering it as an option. I’m worried about you, Con. Do you know how much paperwork I'd have to fill in if you died on this tour? Too much! I don't want that.” Max furrowed her eyebrows before placing her hands on her chest, genuinely concerned about Connie’s wellbeing. 

Connie sat down on the end of the bed and held onto the water bottle before taking a quick sip and looking up at Max. It was clear how distressed she was over the idea of her best friend being ill. In a way, it was heartwarming to see. 

“It’s probably stress mixed with some kind of hormone thing. I thought it would have helped, but nothing has helped since I came off birth control. I’m probably supposed to be on right now and for some ungodly reason, the universe decided to mess with me and make me suffer on tour. I just don’t understand why we as women have to go through this - as if we didn’t have enough to contend with already. I went on the birth control for several reasons, one of them being so I could stop being plagued with an existence of intense pain every month. You remember all the times I couldn’t get out of bed back in our dorm room? The only thing that made up for those days was the amount of ice cream we used to get.” Connie began to rant, going off on a subject that she was entirely passionate about. Something that she couldn’t help, but something that she had to live through. 

Max listened to every word, slowly taking it in and carefully processing it all. 

“Didn’t you go on the pill so you and Steve could bone more?” 

“Well, that was  _ one _ of the reasons.”

“Uh...I’m no period scientist - but did you just say you were supposed to be on right now?” Max bit her bottom lip as she pushed her two hands together and pointed at Connie. 

“Probably. It’s been all over the place since I stopped the pill. It’s like it’s trying to return to normality.” Connie stared down at the floor, incredibly disappointed that forcing her hormones to readjust was going to have been one hell of a challenge. 

“Oh shit...have you and Steen been...y’know…” Max clenched one of her fists before pushing her opposite index finger inside. 

Connie suddenly realised what Max was referring to. She instantly shook her head. 

“I’m not pregnant if that’s what you’re thinking!” Connie snapped, the thought never quite running through her mind before - until then. Until she began to recall her memories. 

“Well...uh...it might be worth considering it as an option?” Max shrugged slowly with a nervous smile. 

“I’m not-. I don’t think-. I wouldn’t be!” Connie began to stutter, becoming a little more defensive over the situation. 

“I can always go and grab you a test. Quick and easy. It’ll ease your mind!” Max spoke quickly, suspecting something may have been up with Connie. It wasn’t completely likely, but it was certainly going to have been something that would have put Connie’s mind to rest. 

“I don’t need a test.” 

“I’d  _ highly  _ recommend a test.” 

“I’m not pregnant.” Connie folded over her arms, looking a little sadder than usual. 

“Well, if you’re not pregnant then at least we can stop worrying about it. If you’re not pregnant I’ll take you to the doctors sooner rather than later. Win-win!” Max became incredibly mothering to Connie, seeing her stressed in the situation. 

“Steven’s careful. We’re careful! We wouldn’t-” 

“Steven’s dick sticking abilities are questionable and if he’s essentially been firing blanks for years only to suddenly have the ability to fire wherever without restrictions then he’s probably going to be a bit...trigger happy.” Max gritted her teeth together. 

“We haven’t even had sex since his last tour and that was about a month ago!” Connie attempted to think of any excuse for Max’s reasoning to not be true. 

“Must be a new personal best.” Max chuckled. 

“Come on!”

“Okay, sorry - this is serious. This is a thing that could be happening. Do I get Steven?” Max began to panic, not quite helping the situation. 

“No! I’m not getting him worked up for nothing. It’s going to be nothing! Besides, worrying him about that is only going to make us argue more. I want us to be okay, it's just...things are bad, Max. I can't...we won't... it's... there's no way!” Connie shook her head, suddenly holding onto her stomach self-consciously. 

Max went and sat beside Connie, making sure to stay as close to her as possible. The last thing she wanted to have done was to terrify her best friend into thinking that she was pregnant. The problem was, it was a legitimate concern that Max was currently carrying from all of the things that Connie had said. 

“Okay, so...I know this is going to be super scary - but I think I should go out and get you some tests. That way we’ll be completely sure that we’re in the clear! It’ll also help us get to the bottom of this vomiting because I’m sure Steven would like to wear shoes without living in constant fear. For that matter, getting pretty wary about my own footwear - I can't have my sick kicks become literal sick kicks.” Max laughed as she gently put her arm around Connie, she wasn’t sure if she was making Connie feel better or not - but she may as well have tried. 

“What if we’re not in the clear, Max? Want if I actually am-” Connie looked away, suddenly feeling more nervous than she had done over the entire tour. 

The realisation had come so quickly. The idea that she was pregnant was one that she hadn’t thought of before, but as soon as Max had mentioned it she felt stupid for not trying to figure it out before. Unfortunately, it made sense! Connie refused to believe such a thing until there was solid evidence for it. Something that would have told us for sure. 

“Well, then we’ll figure it out as we go along! Like we always do!” Max snorted, making sure to tell Connie nothing but the truth. It was the only way to get her to keep listening. 

“You’d do that for me?”

“What?”

“Get the tests? I...please, I don’t think I can go anywhere right now. I can give you the money.” Connie didn’t quite know what to say, too embarrassed to even admit that a pregnancy test was something that she would have needed. 

“ConCon, there’s no need to get worked up about it. I already said that I’d go and get some! I saw a pharmacy not too far from here, so I’ll just go for a pleasant walk and come back with a pregnancy test. A very normal trip for a not so normal item.” Max shrugged, wanting nothing more than to comfort her best friend in her time of need. Max knew that going to the store would have been an embarrassing experience for her, but they were in Portland - she would never see anyone here ever again. It was fine!

Connie wasn’t sure how to react, still a little shaken up at the thought. 

“Thanks, Max.” Connie whispered, barely able to croak it out. 

“So, you just sit here and relax. Try not to think about anything small and painful and I’ll go and get you some sweet sweet confirmation. Maybe some chocolate too. Chocolate sounds good.” Max stood up, turning around and showing Connie some finger guns. 

Connie held her stomach and looked up at Max, giving her a look that Max wished she didn’t have to see. It suddenly made Max feel incredibly sorry for her. Connie didn’t know what to do, seeking help from Max was the only way that she would have felt comfortable. As much as she would have wanted Steven to have been involved, she knew that he would have freaked out a little too much. 

As much as she was sure that he wanted to have kids one day, she wasn’t sure if now was the right time for that kind of thing. If it turned out that she was pregnant, then things would have been different for the rest of their lives. It would have changed everything that they knew about their future. It would only serve to add more fuel to their fire. 

It didn’t take long for Max to head back out of the hotel room, leaving Connie sitting on the end of the bed by herself. There was a debate inside of her mind regarding whether or not sure should have texted Steven. The last thing that she wanted was to have gone through it alone. Steven would have wanted to be there through the whole thing, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for that just yet. It was only a couple of days ago they were at one another's throats spewing venom. 

Perhaps...a hormonal response? Connie gulped at the thought, frustrated and anxious about the idea. 

Connie stood up, lifting her sweater and gently prodding her stomach. If there was something inside of there then it was yet to have made itself known in any aspect other than causing her to throw up nearly every day. It had become unbearable, both the sickness and the nauseating feeling. It would have been nice to know what was going on, at least then she could have worked up a way to solve it. 

If her sickness was just down to nerves then the best thing to do would have been to have watched her diet and gone through the whole tour doing everything she could to have not been sick. It was going to have been near enough impossible, but it would have been something. A partial solution to the problem that she was having. 

Connie began to pace around the room, a part of her wishing that Max would have been a lot quicker in selecting what she wanted. It must have been around twenty minutes of Connie walking back and forth anxiously thinking about all of the things that would have happened if the test came out as positive. 

Was she going to have ever been ready to have been a mom? 

It was one of the things that she had thought about in the past, but it wasn’t until that moment where she began to realise that it was something that she was going to have to think about now it was the only thing on her mind. If it came back positive, there was going to have been a lot of changes in her life. 

Some for the better and some for the worse. 

“Okay, I got just about every single brand that money could buy.” Max threw the bag on the end of the bed as Connie stared down in shock at the sheer amount. 

“Why did you get so many?” Connie panicked. 

“You’ve got to be sure, y’know? Also, I’ve never brought a pregnancy test before - how am I supposed to know which one is the best quality? The dude at the shop refused to help me! He said he wouldn't know as he 'didn't have a uterus', what a poor excuse for bad customer service.” Max scoffed, folding over her arms and shaking her head. 

Connie reached into the bag as Max ranted about her uncomfortable shopping experience. As much as it was just peeing on a stick, they all looked incredibly scary and intimidating. She certainly didn’t enjoy looking at the box with a picture of a baby on the front of it. What horrible marketing! 

“So, I just pee on one of these and it’ll tell me if I’m pregnant or not?” Connie picked up one of the boxes and glanced down at it with furrowed eyebrows. 

“I guess? Just like babies, these probably don’t come with instructions either.” Max pouted her lip slightly at the sight of her best friend, terrified with the answer they could have come to within the next couple of minutes.

“This...I didn’t expect  _ this _ .” Connie slumped herself down on the end of the bed in defeat as Max came and sat beside her for some kind of comfort. 

“Well, you don’t know what it’s going to say yet. Maybe you should figure out whether or not you’re pregnant before you start thinking of baby names.” Max placed her hand gently on Connie’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, you’re right…” Connie sighed, taking in her best friend's advice. 

“Now, go and pee on that stick!” Max patted her shoulder slightly as Connie stood up and walked into the bathroom, taking a few of the tests with her. 

Connie locked the door behind her, placing them down on the bathroom sink and staring at herself in the mirror. She had certainly been a lot more tired as of late, but simply put that down to the book tour. It could have been a mixture of both. 

How the hell was Connie going to be a mother? 

She stared back down at the pregnancy tests for a moment before cracking open the boxes and getting to work with using them all. Max stood outside of the door and listened in just in case Connie needed her in any way. 

Max was determined to have been there for her friend when she needed it. She couldn’t have even begun to imagine how Connie was currently feeling. All she knew was that regardless of the results - Max was willing to feed her copious amounts of chocolate to ease the pain. 

Connie spent a lot longer in the bathroom than Max had anticipated, only assuming that perhaps she was pondering on how to use each device. Of course, they wanted to make sure that they were certain in the conclusion that they came to. Getting the results from several different devices would have been the best option. 

Suddenly, Connie opened the door and allowed Max to step into the bathroom. Max didn’t say a word as she walked over to the sink and looked at all of the tests lined up underneath the mirror. 

“I think they take a little while to work...” Connie sighed, unsure as to what she wanted the results to have been. It was hard to concentrate with so many scenarios running through her mind. 

“But some of them are pretty quick…” Max corrected. 

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to look.” 

“Hm, yeah...that makes sense.” 

“C-can you look at them?” Connie held herself tightly, quickly becoming a bundle of nerves as her stomach twisted. 

“You want me to touch the piss sticks?” 

“Max!”

“Okay, okay! I’ll take a look.” Max sighed, making sure to swallow any kind of disgust she had for pregnancy. It was just so...weird. 

“It’s two lines for positive. Or a plus! I checked the instructions on them all.” Connie added as she took a step back, watching as Max picked up each of the tests and studied them. 

Max’s eyes widened at the sight of the first test, quickly picking up the next one and taking a look. The result didn’t change. She picked up another. The same result. 

“Uh...two lines - right?” Max turned back around to Connie with a look of concern. 

“Y-yeah. Or a plus…” Connie gulped slightly at the sight of Max, seeing how she had reacted to seeing the tests certainly hadn’t filled her with confidence about the results. 

“Well, I know we said not to discuss baby names - but ‘Max’ is pretty gender-neutral...” Max gave Connie an uneasy smile followed by a shrug. 

“What?” Connie practically jumped over and snatched one of the tests from her best friends hand. She stared down at the test in shock. 

Two lines. 

“Uh, so...the emo boy knocked you up. Woah, that's pretty crazy.” Max bounced on her heels awkwardly as Connie grabbed another one of the tests. 

A plus. 

“I mean, we should probably do some of the others for accuracy. We’ve got to be sure!” Connie laughed as she flicked through the tests she had just done. 

“You did five different tests. All different brands. Not a single one was negative.” Max gripped onto her friend’s shoulders the best she could to calm her down before speaking softly to get the message across. “You’re pregnant, Con…”

Connie touched her palm against her forehead as she looked away from Max in a panic. 

“There’s no way…”

“Let’s...go and sit down.” Max chewed her lips before gripping on Connie and pulling her out of the bathroom towards the end of the bed, making sure to sit Connie down as she stared into nothingness in shock. 

What the hell was Connie going to do? 

“What am I supposed to tell everyone? How am I supposed to tell them?” Connie’s bottom lip quivered at the thought. 

What was she going to tell her friends? Her parents?! Steven?!?!?!

“I’m just throwing out a supportive hand and telling you that there are...options.” Max didn’t want to make the suggestion outright, especially after seeing her friend’s face full of so much concern. 

“N-no, I couldn’t do that." Connie struggled to get the words out, feeling so bizarre having the few words put inside of a sentence together. It certainly didn’t feel right to have them there. 

“True, you couldn’t ever rid the world of a baby you know damn well is going to be skilled enough to play the guitar on the moon.” Max shrugged. 

“What?” Connie laughed at the image in her mind. 

“It’s going to be a rocket scientist emo. Tell me otherwise. I bet you can’t!” Max shook her head and attempted to keep a straight face. 

“N-no, that sounds about right.” Connie smiled as she placed both of her hands on her stomach. Now that she was in the situation there was no way that she could have escaped from it. 

Sure, she had decided within her mind that she wanted kids a long time ago. Although, she certainly hadn’t expected to start so soon. She always expected to be one of the women who had a child later in life so that she could focus on her career in her twenties. Despite what she had originally planned, that had been thrown out of the window. 

“So...what are you going to tell the lean, mean, peen machine Steen?” Max chewed on her bottom lip at the thought, thinking about how and when her best friend was going to reveal the big secret.

Max knew that this wasn’t Connie’s original plans. It would have messed up the simplicity of the tour. As if them touring the UK wouldn’t have been bad enough for all of their mental health. She didn’t want a repeat of the depressing tour from the years before, it wouldn’t have been fair on any of them. 

“I’m not sure…” Connie trailed off, thinking about all of the things that came with being pregnant. Her mind couldn’t stop racing, suddenly terrified about the pain that she was going to have to face at the end of her pregnancy. She hadn’t even gotten to that point yet, but the idea was still mentally freaking her out. 

“Are you going to do it with a blue cake or something? I don’t know...those videos online are weird.” Max swung her legs back and forth at the end of the bed, placing both of her hands on the bedsheets beside her. 

“Are you talking about gender reveals?”

“Look, I don’t know where babies come from. Cakes? Balloons? All I know is that’s where they all come from online.” Max shrugged, getting everything that she knew about babies mixed up in one place within her mind. 

“Gender reveals are trash anyway. They force the child to be subjected and subscribed to everyday social gender norms. It’s a way for us to decide who the baby is going to be before we even know them as a person and that’s disgusting. The best thing we can do for any child is to allow them to grow up in a world that doesn’t force them into these harmful stereotypes. We have to let people grow up and be whoever they want to be. It’s important that we don’t force these harmful stereotypes on kids before they’re even born. It’s so...” Connie shook her head, thinking about the trend that had been going on for years that upset her greatly. There was no reason why she wouldn’t have wanted to rant about it and Max was happy enough to listen. 

“Fuck yeah! Go off, Connie. But yeah, it doesn’t matter what the gender is - they’ll be a little shit regardless.” Max snorted, knowing that was something that her dad used to say about when he had found out when her mother was pregnant - for the fourth time. 

“Yeah…” Connie stared down at her fingers, her mind flooded with thoughts about what the baby she was carrying could have been in the future. 

Of course, she had thought about what her future children would be like throughout her life, but she had never taken a moment to think about it like the way that she was doing so at that moment. She thought about all of the things that hadn’t quite crossed her mind, what kind of parent would she be? 

How was she going to be able to look after a baby? 

How would Steven react after finding out that she was pregnant? She could only assume that he would say good things, but that didn’t mean that her mind didn’t go to dark places. Why was it going to dark places? Steven was going to be a fantastic father. He was going to love being a dad. 

She smiled at the thought as anxiety decided to take over the nice image within her mind. They were still fighting, their relationship was rocky. They hadn't even shared a bed for the past two nights and as much as she missed him, she was going to give in. Although, things were different now. Very different. 

“I can’t believe I’m going to be an aunt.” Max laughed quietly to herself in the silence. 

“But you’re already an aunt!” Connie cocked an eyebrow as she looked over at Max, knocking her out of her trance. 

“Well, yeah - but I’m not an aunt to your kid! No disrespect to Carter and his fantastic offspring, but this is so much cooler. My best friend is having a baby!” Max giggled to herself before pointing towards Connie’s stomach, making her feel somewhat self-conscious. 

Oh man, she was going to get really fat. It was going to be gross. 

“I have to go and tell Steven…” Connie nearly choked on her words as she thought about what her next task was going to be. Max was going to be a fantastic aunt, but she couldn’t think about that when the only thing on her mind was how Steven was going to react to the news. 

“Emo boy learns about the emo baby.” Max nodded, taking a little bit more of a serious expression despite her tone. 

“I don’t know what I’m going to say to him.”

“I’m pregnant!”

“That’s...a bit too much.”

“Dude, you’re pregnant. That’s too much in itself. He’s either going to faint or run out of the room screaming. You’ve got a few options here.” Max began to count the possibilities of Steven’s reaction on her fingers. 

“This isn’t helping.” Connie groaned, burying her head into her hands before ranting. "We haven't even spoken to each other about our fight and I don't want to be the one to go out of my way and fix things. This doesn't fix things. The book's still there and Steven's still mad at me. Steven still exists and I'm still mad at him!" 

"You don't have to forgive him today."

"What?"

"Well, if you don't feel comfortable forgiving him for the way that he acted the other day - then don't. I think you should tell him about the baby though, it might make him forgive you." Max snorted at the thought.

"I don't want him to forgive me because I'm pregnant! That's not fair..." Connie sighed.

"Maybe it's a good thing? You can tell him and then maybe you'll make up?" 

"Isn't that giving in? It feels too soon." 

"Jeez, Connie - can you make up your mind? Just tell him and then decide what you want to do next. That's on you!" Max pointed with a shrug. 

"Yeah..." Connie didn't quite know what else to say. 

Nothing that she could have said or done would have made the situation any better. Regardless, she was still going to be pregnant when she went into the other room and admitted the truth to Steven. They had been careless at some point. She should never have come off birth control, even if it was for her health reasons at the time. 

Telling Steven was the next step and it had to be done sooner rather than later. It was unfair to keep it from him. 

“Well, if you’re going to tell him now - I’ll wait in the room and decide on what we’re going to order for food. At least, what  _ I’m _ going to be ordering. I’ll leave you guys to decide after your...talk. An alternative option, you ask politely if I can hold your hand whilst you tell him.” Max shrugged, giving her best friend some supportive options if she needed them. Max was going to have been there regardless of whether or not that meant in the same room or the other room ordering food. 

She would always be there in spirit. Not only that, but Max was always there to talk to her if she needed to. After the time that they had fallen out with one another over their issues when they were in the UK, they had pretty much vowed to never allow that to happen to either of them again. They were always going to be honest with one another whenever they could. 

That was what friendship was all about. 

“I think I have to go and tell him on my own.” Connie sighed deeply as she forced herself to stand up off the end of the bed. 

“It’s going to be fine, y’know? He loves you.” Max spoke softly, speaking words that Connie hadn’t quite expected to come out of her best friend’s mouth. Max wasn’t usually the one to show that kind of affection without a joke attached, but her words felt incredibly genuine. Max wanted Connie to be as comfortable as possible - it was going to be a tough nine months. 

“I know…” Connie wasn’t sure what else to say on the subject as she brushed off her jeans, staring down at her stomach and appreciating the fact that she could still see her shoes. She didn’t think that would be something she would be able to do within a couple of months.

“And if Steven is a bastard about it - I’ll beat him up.” Max winked before throwing some finger guns towards Connie. 

“He would never!” Connie defended. 

“Yeah, but I would.” Max clicked her fingers, suggesting that she would have happily have beaten Steven’s ass if she needed to defend her friend. 

Admittedly, Connie was pretty grateful that Max would have been willing to have done such a thing for her. However, Steven certainly wasn’t the sort of person who she would need to throw hands at as a way to get him to comply with whatever was happening. Nobody needed to be beaten up. Especially not by Max. 

Connie exited Max’s room, incredibly thankful for her best friend’s support. She couldn’t have asked for someone better to have shared the news with first. As much as she wanted to be with Steven at the moment, she wasn’t sure how they both would have reacted if they had found out at the same time. There was no way of knowing what was going to have happened once she had told Steven. 

She could only have assumed positive things...but this wasn’t a small thing. This was a...baby. Even Connie couldn’t quite comprehend the idea at that very moment. It was all too much. 

As she walked through the hotel corridor to Steven's room she placed both of her palms on her stomach. There was so much science that went into motherhood that it was hard to imagine that a human was growing inside of her. Something that would eventually become a person. 

It was hard to think about. It was practically blowing her mind. She never thought that something like that would have ever shocked her and yet as she walked through the corridor, that was all she could focus on. Human biology was incredibly interesting, it was weird and wonderful. It was cool to look at and study when it wasn’t happening to yourself. 

Connie gently tapped her hand against the hotel room door, hoping that she had gotten the right room. Although, speaking to Steven would have been terrifying in itself considering the argument they had shared. She wasn't ready to have gone back to him, she still needed time to process her emotions regarding everything. 

Connie took a step back as the door clicked open, a confused looking Steven revealing himself halfway hidden behind the door. 

"Connie?" His voice cracked, he hadn't expected Connie to have come to his room. Not after everything that had happened, Max had been their messenger since. 

"Hey." Connie greeted bluntly as she held onto her hands. "Can I come in?" 

"Y-yeah sure! Come in!" Steven nearly choked on his words as he opened up the door fully and stepped aside. 

As Connie walked in she noticed all of the remnants of Steven in the room - except she wasn't there to join him. Even his suitcase looked lonely on the other side of the room without hers beside it. 

"S-sorry for the mess. I was writing." Steven fought through a chuckle as he closed the door and scurried over to the bed.

Connie watched as he picked a notebook off the bed and moved it to the bedside table. She didn't want to make assumptions, but a part of her was curious to know if he was writing about them. About the fact he was in the hotel room on his own. 

He turned off his phone that had been playing a demo of a song that he had previously recorded with the band. He was in the mood to create music, but unfortunately, he didn’t have any of his guitars with him on the book tour. 

"It's okay, I was...hoping we could talk?" 

The question hit Steven dramatically. Talk? Was this about their argument? Something else? Was she going to be kicking him off the tour? Telling him to go home? 

Breaking up with him? 

“Sure...would you like to sit down?” Steven offered as he pointed to the end of the bed. Never had he been this awkward with Connie. 

Connie didn't know what to do, she wasn't even sure if she could sit down. If she sat down it may have cemented the idea of staying there. Is that what she wanted? 

"I don't know..." Connie gritted her teeth together. 

"We can stand. It's fine! Whatever. It's... it's okay." Steven scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Were they okay? 

"We can sit, it's fine." Connie knew she was being ridiculous. She sat down on the edge of the bed only for Steven to immediately copy her, sitting beside her. 

She was unsure of how to start the conversation. How was she going to tell Steven that she was pregnant with  _ his baby _ ? It wasn’t the kind of conversation that she had been expecting to have with him. Not yet. Not on that particular day. Not on tour! Not after the fact they hadn't spoken to each other! 

It wasn’t even as if she could have put it off until after the tour. There was no way that she could live with the secret above her head until they went back home. It was something that she had to get out in the open as soon as possible otherwise it may have been considered a breakdown in trust. 

“I need to speak to you about something important and...I don't know how to say it.” Connie furrowed her eyebrows as she gently clenched her fists together, slowly hovering one hand back over to her stomach in a slight suggestion. 

Steven’s eyes widened at the words. Nothing about them seemed...good. There was no way that she could have said something like that and nothing bad would come out of her mouth. It was certain that there was going to have been some bad news coming his way and his mind was quick to flood with everything negative. 

There wasn’t much room for a single positive thought. 

He thought about all of the things that he could have done wrong within the past couple of weeks. All of the things that he may have said that could have built up to the moment in which she wanted to...break up with him. It was about the book. He had been too harsh on her, how was she going to have known if he didn't specify? She was going to break up with him halfway through the tour. 

He had thought about it in the past due to his anxiety, but it had never come true. Had she found the ring that he tried to keep hidden inside of his jacket pocket? Was it something that had scared her to the point of not wanting to be with him anymore? Had he said something that he shouldn’t have to her parents when they were last together? It was about the book. He knew it was about the book. He was an idiot for saying anything. 

He stared over at her with his mouth slightly ajar, terrified about what she may have said to him. 

“W-what is it? Is everything okay?” Steven pressed his fists into the mattress either side of him, not wanting to show how nervous he was as he choked out his words. 

Was this because of the fight that they had about the book? They were all viable reasons as to why she would want to speak to him. Despite all of the reasoning in his head - none of them were the correct answer. 

Connie made sure to turn her body so that she was facing him. He turned his body enough so that he was still sitting on the edge of the bed, but could easily look into her eyes. He had done just that, panic spread across his face. 

“It’s...this is a lot…” Connie quickly took a deep breath, trying to compose herself as she reached out for Steven’s hands. He allowed her to take them, feeling her soft grip around his hands. 

The first time she had touched him in the past couple of days. The touch was familiar and one that he had craved. It was his fault they were in this place. No, it was Connie's fault. They both had no right to argue. They were both to blame and Steven was terrified. 

“If this is about the tour - I’ll go home! I don’t want to get in the way of what you’re doing. This is your career and I don’t want to ruin it.” Steven suddenly blurted out, closing his eyes in the process. He didn’t want to go home - but if it was going to prevent her from saying the words or from them breaking up, then he was willing to say it. 

“N-no, Silly. That’s not it! I want you on tour with me.” Connie was shocked to hear what he had to say, a little bit panicked that her words had thrown her off what she truly wanted to say. 

She had been harsh with her wording previously. There was no way that she didn't want him with her on the tour. 

“Oh...I’m sorry. I just thought-” Steven glanced away, still holding his hands out slightly in front of her. 

“Don’t be sorry, it’s okay.” Connie’s expression dropped, realising that she would have to admit the truth when she wasn’t ready to do so. It would have been nice to have Steven’s support through it all. Hell, she needed it. 

“W-what did you want to speak to me about then?” Steven stuttered on his words once more, incredibly anxious to know the truth. With it not being anything to do with the tour, it was more likely that she was going to mention something about ending their relationship. 

He would have to live with his dad. What would happen to the house? 

He chewed nervously on his bottom lip as Connie stewed on how she was going to be able to get her words out when everything inside of her was telling her that it was going to be a bad idea. She had to. There was no choice. 

They were going to be parents. It was a responsibility that they both needed to share. Together. 

“I love you, Steven - more than anything.” Connie sighed out her words as she slowly lifted her hand so her palm could meet his cheek. She touched his face softly as she felt his stubble against her skin. He hadn’t shaved. He hadn't felt mentally capable of doing so when all he thought about in his room alone was Connie. 

“I love you too.” He lifted his hand back up to meet her, holding onto her wrist as he looked at her with loving eyes. 

All he could think about was how this was it. He had never been broken up with before, but he imagined that these were the sort of words that came before it. They had watched too many romantic movies together that he knew all of the tropes. His eyes began to well slightly at the thought, internally debating whether or not he should have jumped across the room and grabbed his jacket. At least if he proposed to her then, maybe she would know that he loved her. That he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Their argument would be over and everything would be fine! 

“I have some pretty big news…” Connie looked away, a little embarrassed to get to the point where she had to admit it. She didn’t want to say it out loud...that would have made it true. 

“What is it?” Steven was now desperate to know, Connie had built up far too much anticipation. 

There was silence. 

“Steven…” Connie made sure to look him in the eyes as she ran her thumb against the top of his cheek. She took another deep breath before speaking. “...I’m pregnant.” 

Steven blinked rapidly, keeping his eyes locked on Connie as his mouth fell slightly ajar.

“W-wha…” Steven could barely speak as he attempted to process the information. 

“I…”

Steven took a deep breath as his eyebrows bounced in shock, his face trying its hardest to select the correct response. He needed to figure out what she had just said. He clamped his teeth together as his stomach turned, once again blinking rapidly as he held a little tighter onto her hands.

Pregnant. 

Connie was…

“Pregnant! You’re having a baby?!?” Steven’s eyes widened as he immediately stared down at her stomach as if there was already something showing. The reality of what was happening finally coming through to him. 

“Y-yeah…” Connie’s expression dropped, nerves drowning her at his reaction. As if they hadn’t already been bad enough, now it looked as if he was ready to run out of the room. 

Then...she watched his expression turn. 

From immediate shock came the instant curling of his lips into the widest smile she had ever seen, his eyes beginning to water at the news. Connie sniggered a small laugh of relief at the change of his emotional response. 

“ _ We’re _ having a baby?” Steven gripped her hands a little harder as he held them both to his chest in excitement. 

“We are!” Connie chuckled back. 

“We’re having a baby!” Steven giggled through his teeth, unable to contain any of his emotions as they flushed through him without warning. His eyes began to stream tears of sheer joy. 

“We’re having a baby!” Connie repeated, matching his tears with her own as they trickled down the side of her face. 

Nothing else mattered. 

“I-I’m going to be a dad?” Steven’s mind was hammered with various amounts of thoughts, but the one that stuck out the most was the one that was telling him that...he was going to be a dad.

He had never been a  _ dad  _ before. He wanted to be one though. He was going to be one…

“You’re going to be a dad, Steven.” Connie tried to hold back her tears but failed to do so as she smiled. 

Steven slowly released his hand from her grip and shuffled closer towards her, gently placing his palm on her stomach. Connie glanced downwards as the gesture, knowing that he wanted to be as close as possible to her. She slowly placed her hand on top of his. 

“Wow…” Steven was speechless, unable to get to a point within his mind where he could fathom the idea that someone was growing inside of her. A baby. 

“Are you...okay?” Connie’s eyebrows knitted together in concern, looking over at him as he kept his hand flat against her stomach.

It took a moment for Steven to respond, too caught up in the moment to process a reply. 

“I can’t believe it…w-when?”

“When?”

“When did you find out?” Steven suddenly perked up, interested to know everything about the baby he could. 

“About twenty minutes ago.” Connie laughed, telling nothing but the truth. She didn't think that she would have been able to find out the news if it wasn’t for Max’s support. It was in moments like that where she appreciated her best friend more than ever. 

“B-but when did we-”

“The last time was on tour…” Admittedly, there had been a lot going on. There hadn’t been much time for them to have partaken in their usual sexual pursuits. 

“But I wore a-”

“You used the one from in the van, didn’t you?” Connie cocked an eyebrow, wiping away her tears with a smile. 

“Maybe...yes.” Steven bit onto his bottom lip awkwardly. 

“Steven, I told you not to! I had been on birth control for years, it had probably expired!” Connie scowled. It was too late for that now - they were going to be parents. 

“They  _ expire _ ?!?” Panic spread across Steven’s face as he realised his fatal error. 

“Yes!” Connie groaned, as much as she wanted to be mad at him - she couldn’t. Her mind suddenly filled with pleasant images of them both being parents. There was nothing that Connie wanted to do more than to raise a child with Steven. He would have been the most perfect father. 

“Connie, I’m so sorry.” Steven shook his head, guilt eventually hitting him for the situation that he had put her in. 

“It’s okay! I…” Connie paused, attempting to figure out what she wanted to say next. “...I think I  _ want _ a baby. A baby with you.” 

Steven digested the words. He wanted a baby too. As much as the scenario was unplanned and wasn’t quite what any of them had expected, it wasn’t something that they could have denied that they wanted. Having a baby together would have just been them taking the next most important step of their relationship. 

“You’re going to be such a good mom!” Steven’s face lit up once more, trying to get over the fact it was his fault that they were in this position at all. Connie using birth control for the past couple of years had gotten Steven out of the practice of using protection. 

“You really think?” Connie placed both of her hands on her stomach as she looked downwards. 

“Yeah! The best mom this world has ever seen!” Steven placed both of his hands on her shoulders as he looked at her with a sweet expression. She could never deny how much love she had for the man. He gave her so much happiness. 

Steven slowly guided his hands to either side of her cheeks before leaning forward and planting a soft kiss against her lips. Connie responded with a kiss in return, this one lasting a little longer than the last. Kissing him was so sweet and she appreciated how special he made her feel. 

To kiss her was risky business, considering everything that had happened between them. Although, it felt as if at that moment the only thing that mattered was them and the baby. 

Steven gently unlatched from the kiss, looking her straight in the eyes before gasping. 

“I have to tell my dad!” Steven paused. “C-can I tell my dad?” 

Connie certainly didn’t want everyone to know that she was pregnant right away. The longer that she could have hidden it from everyone, the better. There was no way that she wanted to announce to the world that she was pregnant until she was starting to be mistaken for having stolen a basketball up her shirt. 

“You can tell your dad...I just don’t want everyone to know yet. It’s..new. I’m still in shock!” Connie laughed nervously.

“Okay! I need to ring him now.” Just as Steven went to stand up, Connie hands slowly pressing on his lap and causing him to sit back down. He looked over at Connie in confusion. 

“Steven...I mean it when I say  _ just your dad _ . Okay?” Connie needed to get his verbal confirmation that he understood what she was trying to get across. She knew that he had a tendency to get excited and tell a bunch of people. This was incredible news - it was going to be much harder for him to have contained. 

“Just my dad.” Steven nodded as he repeated the words, wanting to assure Connie he was listening to exactly what she was saying on the subject. They had to continue to work on their communication. 

The issue was mostly surrounding Connie’s parents. 

Her parents. How was she going to tell her parents?

She was worried that somehow if Steven was to share all of the information with some of his friends that it would somehow make its way to her parents. She wanted to tell her parents...eventually. It was going to take her a while to muster up the courage to have been able to tell them what she had done. 

She had nine months to tell them. 

Eventually, she could show up on their doorstep with a new grandchild. At least at that point, they would fall in love with the child and not be mad at Connie for her poor life choices. Except...Connie knew that she wouldn’t have been able to wait that long even if she tried. They would have found out sooner or later. 

Connie nodded back at Steven with a smile as he stood up once more and pulled his phone out of his pocket. She knew that he was going to call his dad, but she couldn’t help but wonder why he was going to take the call standing up and not beside her. 

As he began to pace in the hotel room, bringing the phone to his ear - she found out exactly why he was doing so. Steven was far too excited to sit down. The only thing that he was able to do was to pace back and forth on the hotel carpet as a way to burn himself out if he needed to. 

Connie positioned herself on the bed so that she could watch the phone call unfold. Interested to hear what Greg’s reactions would be to what Steven had to say. It would have been new for him to have been a grandad. Although, Connie was sure that he was going to be just as excited as Steven. 

Steven chewed on his knuckles as he paced, waiting for his dad to answer the phone call as it rang. Connie watched him with a smile, unable to stop thinking about how happy she had made him with the news. In comparison to how angry and upset he had been the other day - this was new. 

“Dad!” Steven suddenly shouted as soon as he answered the phone. It wasn’t particularly late at night, but it was late enough for Greg to have questioned his son’s safety. 

“Steven? Is everything okay?” Greg questioned in what sounded like a groggy voice. He had a long day at work and had almost certainly fallen asleep whilst watching his favourite sitcom. 

“Dad! I’ve got some really cool news.” Steven clenched his spare fist together in excitement as he looked over at Connie, practically ready to explode. 

“What is it?” Greg asked, suddenly curious to know what it was that had gotten his son so amped up. 

Steven practically jumped on the bed so that he could shuffle up beside Connie, sitting beside her as closely as he could. Connie giggled at his gesture, his intense feelings radiating throughout the room. 

“We’re having a baby! I’m going to be a dad!” Steven raised his voice as he spoke, reaching over and presenting Connie with an open palm as he sat beside her. Connie quickly took to the gesture, slowly threading her fingers between his to intertwine them together. She held his hand on her lap before looking over at the huge smile that was spread across his face. 

“Holy smokes! Connie’s pregnant?!” Greg was just about as shocked as Steven was, in nothing but a good way. 

“Yeah! Isn’t that cool!?” Steven grinned as he pressed the back of his head against the headboard, turning slightly so that he could meet eyes with the love of his life. 

“T-that’s...Steven that’s amazing news!” Greg chuckled down the phone, still completely shocked by what he had heard. It wasn’t every day that you found out that your son was going to have a baby with his girlfriend. 

“It’s amazing.” Steven spoke in a much softer voice as he smiled over at Connie who could ever so slightly hear the phone call. He made sure to stroke his thumb against the top of her hand for comfort as he held her. All he wanted to do was to be with her. 

“Is Connie okay?”

“Y-yeah! Here, let me put you on speaker.” Steven insisted as he removed the phone from his ear and put the call on speakerphone. 

“Hi, Mr Uni-" Connie paused. "Greg!” She chuckled slightly as Steven messed around with the phone with one hand. 

“Hey, Connie! T-that’s pretty big news! How are you feeling?” Greg was quick to show concern for Connie. It was going to have been a tough time to have to deal with a pregnancy. Greg understood how hard it was to have been pregnant when he had experienced it with Rose. 

He too wanted to make sure that Connie was fine with everything that was happening. Pregnancy was a terrifying thing. 

“I’m good, thank you. It’s going to be pretty weird...but this is all pretty sudden news.” Connie smiled over at Steven once more, it felt as if he was unable to remove his eyes from her. The only thing he could think about doing was looking at Connie, completely entranced by how much he loved her. He wanted to be the one to tell her every day and every night. 

“Well, you let me know if you need anything - okay? Anything at all!” Greg made sure to offer whatever he could to make sure that the young couple would have been comfortable. If he could support them in any way - he would have. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a grandad!” Greg added, as far as both Connie and Steven could tell, he was probably running his hand through his hair at that moment. At least, that’s what they both imagined he was doing. 

“Thank you! You’re going to be an amazing grandparent.” Connie commented. 

“Dad, you’re going to have to teach me how to be a good dad!” Steven spoke in a happy tone, excited to have some kind of lessons from his father on how to be as great as Greg was at parenting. 

“I don’t think that’s something I can teach, Kiddo. I always just winged it.” Greg laughed, admitting his parenting techniques that most other parents adopted. Nobody knew what they were doing when they became a parent. 

“Oh…” Steven was a little disappointed that his father couldn’t give him lessons on it. 

“Don’t worry though, Stchuball. You’re going to be an awesome dad!” Greg had to hide the fact that a couple of tears were falling down either side of his cheeks. Steven and Connie didn’t need to know how emotional he was getting. His son had grown up into a man that he was incredibly proud of. There was no denying that. 

“Thanks, Dad.” Steven grinned, holding the phone up to them both as he continued to hold onto Connie’s hand. 

“I’d better let you two get back to celebrating, I can’t wait to see you both when you’re back home!” Greg assured them both, a little bit sad that they were so far away from home. All he wanted to do was hug them both tightly. 

“Thanks, Greg. Can’t wait to see you too!”

“See you soon!” Steven made sure to say his goodbyes to his dad before hanging up the phone. 

He had just told his father that he was going to have been a father himself. Greg was going to have to stew on the news for a while that his son was going to be a dad. It was pretty intense news and was going to have been the only thing that Greg would have been able to think about. He hadn’t expected that phone call in the slightest…

Steven gently threw his phone onto the nightstand, not wanting to bother to look at it all night. The only thing that he wanted to look at was Connie, amazed by the fact that she was carrying...his child. It was such a bizarre thing for him to have thought about. It didn’t make it any less weird - but it was still such an amazing and surreal experience. 

After the fight that they had, Connie wasn't sure where she stood. Perhaps this one night she was willing to put everything aside? One night that they could use to ignore everything that they were previously arguing about? 

After all, they were having a baby together. They were going to have to sort it out at some point. They couldn't stay like it forever. 

"I'm sorry about your shoes." Connie suddenly added to the conversation to lighten the mood further. She was hoping that her comedic tones would allow her the option. 

"My- that doesn't matter! I...assume this is why you've been sick?" Steven's pointed at her stomach as she nodded. 

"It makes sense." Connie sighed, despite the sickness being down to get pregnancy, she was still incredibly nervous at the signings. 

"Yeah." Steven nodded, looking away before formulating a plan within his mind. "Do you want to stay tonight? I know you said that you didn't want to and I completely get it - but I'd also love to be near you and the baby. This is pretty big news, Connie. I don't want to be alone. I don't want you to be alone either." 

The last words hit Connie with force. She didn't want him to be alone either. Even she didn't want to be alone, except maybe it was different as she had Max to keep her company, but it wasn't Steven. 

It wasn't Steven who she loved with every part of her. Even if they were at a point in their relationship where they were arguing about something that she couldn't solve, she still loved him. He still loved her. They wouldn't have been able to change that. 

"We haven't...we need to talk-"

"I know, but this is different. We'll... work things out." Steven shrugged, he knew he couldn't be mad at her for very long. He hated what she did, but he couldn't deny how much he wanted to forgive her for it. 

Then again, how was he supposed to forgive someone that had ruined his reputation? Potentially destroyed his career? He would never find work in the industry again if anything was said about it. He was terrified.

Then again, how could he not forgive the love of his life? The person who he wouldn't change for the world? The woman carrying his baby...

"I said I needed time." Connie felt conflicted. 

"I think time is important, but just for tonight can we pretend everything is fine?" Steven squinted as he pushed the thought. Pretending wouldn't have made things any better, but it would have allowed for him to have spent the night with the person he loved. 

"Just tonight." 

"We can figure out the rest...soon." Steven half-smiled, he wasn't particularly fond of the idea, but it was better than them both being alone. 

He was still mad. She was still mad. They had problems they needed to solve. 

Connie slowly slid down the bed, making sure to adjust her pillows and lay on them so that she was facing Steven. Steven copied her actions, laying down on the pillow opposite her and making sure that they kept their eye contact. Steven wanted to move closer, but he knew he had to be careful with his actions. The last thing he wanted was for Connie to have left. 

“Hi."

“Hey.” Connie whispered back with a small smile. 

Steven was interested in one thing in particular. The baby. 

“When do we get to see the squiggly picture?” Steven questioned with seriousness in his tone.

“The  _ squiggly picture _ ?”

“Y’know...the baby!”

“An ultrasound?” Connie snorted, he was just as dorky as ever. 

“Uh...yes?”

“Well...we’ll have to go and see a doctor once we’re back home.” 

“Is that...too late? I mean, technically you’ve been pregnant since the tour - right?” Steven felt embarrassed that he was unsure how everything worked. He didn’t want to be useless. 

“Don’t worry, it’s fine. It won’t be too late. Technically...I think it’ll probably fall around the right time!” Connie reached up to stroke the side of Steven’s face, noticing him immediately panicking about the wellbeing of the baby. He was going to be a great dad. 

"Is our house big enough for us to have a baby? What about parks? Are there any parks where we live? What if they have nowhere to play? Are they even safe? We should look into that. Isn’t that something we have to do?” Steven’s eyebrows dipped as he thought about all of the things that he would have to do as a parent. 

“Steven...that’s still a  _ long _ way away!” Connie chuckled. 

“Right…” Steven chewed his lip as he processed yet another question. He wanted to know everything he possibly could about babies so that he could be a good dad. 

“We’re going to be okay. We’ll just have to take it one day at a time…” Connie smiled at him sweetly. 

“This is scary.”

“I know.”

They laid there in silence for a moment, sticking as close as they possibly could - staring into each other’s eyes. 

“We can...do this...right?” Steven furrowed his eyebrows as he questioned his ability to become a father. 

“We can do it together.” Connie made sure to confirm. It wasn’t as if he was going to have to take on the challenge alone. She would have been beside him every step of the way. 

At least, if they got over their issues with one another first. Things were going to have been difficult, to begin with.

Steven glanced downwards once more, placing his hands on her hip and slowly sliding it towards her stomach, looking back up at her with his mouth slightly ajar. 

“We’re going to be parents, Connie.” The shock suddenly hit Steven as he spoke, realising the true complexity of the situation. 

“Yeah…we are.” Connie sighed as he held her, a touch that she was all too familiar with and yet the position of his hands was foreign. He had never touched her stomach the way he was before.

Connie laid there in silence, unsure how she would have been able to answer his question. She wasn't sure. If anything, she was scared. 

From there on out - nothing was ever going to be the same. 


	10. Seattle, WA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven, Connie and Max meet up with some old friends.

“You can still fly, right?” Steven gave her a look of concern as they made their way through the airport. 

“Yes, I can still fly.” Connie nodded, putting up with an overbearing Steven as he continued to show a mass amount of concern for her. He was consistent in making sure she was as comfortable as possible throughout the last day.

That included spending all night curled up with her, stroking her hair, planting gentle kisses on her skin and telling her how much he loved her. Connie wanted to be mad at him, but she would have been lying if she said that she didn’t appreciate the attention that he was giving her. She sure did love to feel loved. 

Although, that didn’t include the amount of time Steven spent Boogling every question about what you can and can’t do during pregnancy, wanting to make sure that Connie would be safe every step of the way. He was going to make sure that she avoided sushi and didn’t have to stand up for too long. 

“Bro, are you going to be this annoying for nine whole months?” Max groaned, already fed up with Steven’s behaviour. 

“Being a concerned parent isn’t being  _ annoying _ .” Steven pouted, scowling over at Max. 

There was so much that he wanted to find out about what it was going to have been like to be a dad. There was so much information that he felt the sheer need to have absorbed. There was no way that he was going to have been able to get all of it in a manner that he so desired. Was he going to have to take some kind of class once they got back? 

“The kid’s still the size of a piece of popcorn and you’ve already smothered it in bubble wrap!” Max retaliated. 

“Guys! Can you stop?  _ Both  _ of you.” Connie held her hands either side of her, stuck in the middle of them both as she snapped. There were so many times she had to step in and stop them from getting into small arguments about the most ridiculous things. Neither of them ever intended to offend, but they were both stubborn. 

“She started it.” Steven mumbled under his breath. 

“Nuh-uh, Universe. Check your facts.” 

“Guys!” Connie gritted her teeth together as if she wasn’t stressed enough from the tour and the fact that she had recently discovered that she was...pregnant. The two of them bickering like siblings wasn’t going to help the cause. 

“Sorry.” Steven looked down sadly, knowing when he needed to shut up. As things weren't already awkward between them. 

Sure, sharing a bed that night meant that they had repaired their relationship...slightly. At least, that's what they had hoped for. Not completely. Things weren't normal yet and neither of them thought they ever would be again.

“Sorry, Con - we’re just looking out for you.” Max apologised, not wanting Connie to have become mad at them for trying their hardest to care for her. 

It was nice that they both wanted to have done things for her, but she didn’t want them to treat her any differently just because she was pregnant. She assumed that in the future she may have thought differently, perhaps at the time when she wouldn’t have been able to tie her shoelaces. That must have been the point in which she was ready to have some kind of assistance. 

For now? She was fine! 

“I know, it's just - I'm sorry. This is a lot.” Connie rubbed her temple, getting a little stressed out with everything that had happened within the last day or so. Finding out she was pregnant was one of the most surreal experiences of her life. There wasn’t much else that could have topped it. Her fight with Steven just made things worse.

“It’s okay! Do you want to take a break? We have a little while before the flight. Do you want to sit down?” Steven stopped them all in their tracks as he reached over to Connie, gently placing his hands on her arms before glancing over to Max. He needed some kind of assistance in that department. 

“I’ll be fine, let’s just get on the plane.” Connie instructed, not wanting Max nor Steven to spend all of their time putting the attention on her. 

Max and Steven gave one another a look. They knew that the next eight or so months were going to have been difficult for everyone - but they had to remember that they were going to have been the most difficult for Connie. Making sure that she was okay was the most important thing. 

They just had to do it in a way that wouldn’t have smothered her completely. 

After being on the plane for a short period, they got off. Connie had gotten slightly tired of Max and Steven exchanging questions and knowledge that they had gathered together when it came to pregnancies and babies. It certainly wasn’t the thing that she wanted to hear - terrified out of her mind that she was going to have something growing inside of her. 

They weren’t helping. 

Which is why when Steven received a phone call, Connie was happy for him to have accepted it. One that she was glad that they could have gotten through that would have resulted in something that wasn’t just a signing. Connie needed some kind of stimuli to keep herself from going crazy under the pressure. 

Steven picked up the phone and placed it to the side of his face, a part of him a little afraid that it would have been Sadie again. He hoped that it wasn’t the case, he didn’t want a repeat of the previous days. 

“Wait, you guys are in Seattle? Now?” Steven practically gasped down the phone, a little bit shocked to hear what was being said on the other side. Connie and Max exchanged glances as they wondered who it was that Steven was speaking to. 

“We can meet up! You guys remembered what I said about the signings? Yeah? Cool, well come and see us there and we can hang out! We’ve got time. I’ll send you the address. Tonight? I’m sure we can figure something out!” Steven continued to speak on the phone, only causing Max and Connie to become slightly more curious. 

“I hope he’s talking to a bunch of strippers he’s ordered or something. That'll make a party.” Max shrugged, knowing that she would have been disappointed to hear the truth. 

“I hope not.” Connie mumbled. 

“Cool! See you guys later. Bye!” Steven spoke in a cheery tone as he hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket, turning towards Connie and Max with a smile. 

“Who was that?” Max questioned, her curiosity getting the better of her. 

“Oh, just a couple of friends.” Steven bit his bottom lip with a smile.

Max gave him a deadpan expression.

“It’s the band. You’re a pretty popular guy, Steven - but you keep your friends close. It’s the rest of the band.” Max shrugged, suddenly breaking through the surprise that Steven had curated in his head. 

Steven’s face dropped, no longer as excited to have revealed the news that he had just gotten. 

“Yeah. The band is going to meet up with us after the signing. Cool, right?” Steven smiled, hoping that everyone was going to have been pleased with the rest of their friendship group joining them for a section of the tour. 

It would have been like the good old days!

As by ‘the good old days’, he mostly meant like the tour that they had just been on a little over a month before. 

“It’s really nice that they’re coming out all this way!” Connie blushed at the thought. Just as much as she had been there to support the band over and over, they were willing to come out and support her when it came to her book tour. 

It was important for her to have known that. It felt nice to know that the band cared for her just as much as she cared for them. They were some of the most amazing people for her to have in her life. She was sad that when they had come to the release party that she hadn’t had a lot of time to catch up with them all. 

Admittedly, the Maheswaran-DeMayo household often hosted movie nights for the friendship group so that everyone could pile on a couch together, crack open a few beers and order pizza. It was a great activity for them all to spend hanging out now and then. It also gave them the perfect opportunity to all hang out as they would on a tour. 

By this point, they were all practically one huge family that loved one another without question. 

“Pretty sad we didn't get to hang with them in Vegas. Y’know damn well they would just want to gamble. What the hell did you guys do on the first tour when you passed through anyway?” Max was curious to know as she and Connie had driven ahead of them all, passing through Vegas pretty quickly in comparison to the band. 

Steven thought back to the memory, attempting to recall what had happened in the city. Regardless, he knew it was a great time together. Everything that happened on the tour where he had met Connie was one of the best times of his entire life. He didn’t want to go back and change a single memory. 

"I don't remember exactly what happened, but I know there was something to do with Buck and Sour Cream gambling away far more money than they had. They got excited!" Steven shrugged, not quite realising what they were getting themselves into. Steven knew that if they all went to Vegas again together that Jenny would have been keeping the boys on a tight leash. Luckily, they had already passed that segment of the trip. 

It was the only way for them not to have spent the whole time spending their money on gambling mass amounts. Money that could have been used to fund other means. 

"I bet they were pissed they couldn't buy anymore weed." Max snorted at the thought. 

"Yeah, this was before Sour Cream started growing himself so they were pretty sad about it. But hey, we got to go to a quilt museum not long after!" Steven tried to bring something fun into the conversation. Thinking back on the memory was the best thing for them all to have done. 

"The quilt museum...that was a fever dream." Max pressed her hand against her forehead. 

"Nope. You were the one that suggested it!" Connie laughed, trying to get Max to think back on the memory.

Connie remembered the quilt museum well. The place where she had spoken to Steven a lot more about their time in L.A. together. A time when they hadn't quite defined their relationship enough to have called it a relationship. At least they had slept together by then, a conversation that had eluded inside of the quilt museum was a debate on whether or not they should have told anyone about their newfound...love?

"Ah. I remember. I want to tell you how boring I found that place in reality, but I'm trying to keep up my cool with this." Max took a deep breath. "The quilt museum was the most historical fun I have ever had in my entire life!" She spoke in a tone that was quick and sarcastic, despite her not wanting to give that kind of voice off. 

It was impossible to not sound sarcastic when speaking about how much you love the quilt museum in Nebraska. 

"I'm not buying it." Connie shook her head. Nobody truly understood the quilt museum. 

"Damn it." Max sighed as they continued to make their way through the airport. 

Day after day they continued to make their way to different cities where they would complete a signing and then disappear to get another book store. Connie was surprised that her book was gaining enough traction in all of the cities to allow for her to actually have fans in each of the states. It was hard for her to believe. 

Although, it shouldn't have been surprising considering how many people always came out to Star Destroyers shows. In recent years, there had been even more people that wanted to attend meaning that they had always tried to up the capacity in the venues. 

It would have been fun to have the band joining them on one of the days that they were on tour. Steven had warned the band for them not to show up to the signing itself - terrified that they would have taken the attention away from Connie. He didn't want to start any more fights. Steven was a little bummed that they wouldn’t have been able to see Connie in action with the signing as she would usually see the band in action when playing a show. 

Connie didn’t question it, but she internally hoped that the band wouldn’t have shown up to a signing. Although, she had never explicitly said that wasn’t something that she wanted, with the argument that she had gotten into with Steven she was sure that he got the gist of why she wouldn’t want them there. 

It still made her feel selfish. 

Although, things with Steven had been incredibly different in the last couple of days. Finding out about the baby had come at an awkward time, meaning that even though they had both apologised to one another briefly there was so much between them to discuss. Including what was now how they were going to be parents and what they were going to do. 

“Oh! This means we can tell the band about the baby, right?” Steven asked excitedly, still a little concerned that his excitement for the baby outweighed the argument they were having only days before. 

“I don’t want everyone to know just yet…” Connie looked away awkwardly as they walked, wanting to get away from the subject. It was still all brand new and something that she was still struggling to come to terms with. After finding out the previous night it was all she could think about. 

“I mean...you got to tell Max. I want to tell my best friends too!” Steven chewed his bottom lip as he pushed the question a little more. He didn’t want to break any boundaries, but he was also curious to know if he would have been able to let them know. He was just so excited! 

“Hey, I’m your best friend too!” Max pouted, folding over her arms. She felt a little offended at the comment, but not enough to kick up too much of a fuss. 

“Well, yeah! But...you know what I mean!” Steven defended. 

Connie pondered on the thought of letting them know. It wasn’t as if they would have relayed it back to her parents. That was just something that was going to have to wait. There was no way she was going to have been telling them until she knew for certain. Until she knew that there was no way of hiding it anymore. 

When her stomach wasn’t just a little bit of extra fat. When it looked like she had shoved a basketball up her shirt and wasn’t able to hide it from anyone. Oh boy, she wasn’t looking forward to that…

This was Steven’s fault. 

“Yeah, whatever - you can tell them.” Connie sighed before pinching the bridge of her nose, gently lifting her glasses in the process. 

“Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?” Steven suddenly questioned, being his usual irritating self. She wouldn’t have been able to put up with his smothering for the remainder of her pregnancy, but she was going to have to. There was no way he was going to tone down his care for her. 

“I’m fine!” Connie nearly snapped, trying her hardest to avoid an aggressive tone. She didn’t want to get frustrated with them both, even if they were both going to make her lose her shit. 

“Okay, just let me know if you need any-”

“I will!”

“Okay…” Steven threaded his fingers together awkwardly, only ever wanting to be helpful. It would have been hard for him not to want to help her through every little thing when she was pregnant. 

Hanging out with the band was something that Steven had been looking forward to. He was unsure which city they would have gone to along their journey, but it was interesting that they had decided to fly out to Seattle. Steven missed his best friends. It was certainly weird for him to have been touring around the states without the people he considered family. 

It would have been strange for them to have joined Connie on the book tour. In a way, Connie was happy that they had decided against the idea. Not because she didn’t get along with them all, but mostly because she was terrified it would have turned out as a normal Star Destroyers tour. There wouldn’t have been any attention to the book itself. 

It would have ruined the experience. As if everything that was already surrounding them hadn’t ruined it all to begin with. There was no way of getting away from all of the things that had happened to them this time they were on tour. No matter what they tried, it was as if most of the tours that Connie went on with Steven were cursed for some reason. Aside from their first one together. 

Things were a lot different from what they had expected them to have been. Which wasn’t entirely a bad thing - but they had also found out they were going to have been parents. That was something that they certainly hadn’t expected from a book tour. Even though it was apparent the conception was on the tour of the coast they had done for Star Destroyers the month before. 

Whoops. 

Connie didn’t want to focus on anything other than signing all of the books that kept being put in front of her. Other than the quick reading that she had done, there was no way she was able to concentrate on much else. She was there to do a job and she wanted to do it well, despite her mind being in a million different places at once. 

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that she was stuck on the book tour. That she had upset Steven so much to the point where the only thing that felt that was holding their relationship together was a baby, it wasn’t true - but she couldn’t help but be plagued by the thought. 

She knew that in a few hours she would have been hanging out with the band, they would know that she was pregnant and everything would be fine. At least, she was going to have pretended it was. It wasn’t as if she was going to have been able to stay mad at Steven forever. The baby certainly made that difficult. 

Connie had noticed that at the signing, Steven had spent a lot of his time trying to avoid all of the people inside of the room. Making sure that he wasn’t in a space where he was able to be seen by a lot of the people there. Sure, he was still sitting at the table, but he didn’t want to make it known that people were there for him. 

He was being rather dismissive to a lot of fans. Connie wasn’t sure whether or not that was because of all of the things that she had said to him, or because he was being defensive of her. At least he was trying to do something about the people who would constantly bother him when it came to his writing for the band. 

The best thing was that the rest of the band hadn’t shown up the signing. That was great. Without the band there, she knew that she would have been able to breathe in her domain. If the band had shown up that day, that would be the only thing that people would have spoken about. Nobody would have cared about the book or the contents. 

Although, it wasn’t long before they had finally found themselves back in contact with the band. 

“Hey, look! A Star Destroyers band reunion!” Max pointed out as the rest of the band piled out of the Toober and grabbed their bags. Max, Steven and Connie all stood on the sidewalk outside of the hotel they were staying in and waited for the rest of the band to join them. 

It was nice for everyone to have been together again. Even if it had taken a while. 

It sure would have been nice for the rest of the band to join Connie on her book tour, but there wasn’t a need to do so. There was no need for them to join her and it probably would have been a boring time for them. She didn’t want to stress them out just as much as she felt from all of the time that she had been freaking out about the tour. 

“It’s our favourite fan, favourite author and favourite frontman!” Jenny winked as she dragged her suitcase over to them all, Sour Cream and Buck following her closely behind. 

“Favourite frontman? I could never.” Max pointed at herself before winking over to one of her incredibly good friends. It still seemed bizarre to Max everything that had happened. Star Destroyers went from being the band that she had posters of in her bedroom to be her best friends. It was such a strange experience. Although, it was hella cool! 

Jenny gently nudged Max in the shoulder with a chuckle, happy to have been reconnected with her friend. 

“What’s up, you guys? Good flight?” Steven questioned, creating as much small talk as possible. The Star Destroyers group chat had been flooded with memes about planes all day. Not only that but a lot of ideas of what to have done when they were all in Seattle together. 

“Eh, I wouldn’t rate it.” Sour Cream shrugged, having had very little legroom on the flight over. He spent most of the flight with his headphones on ignoring the world, but that was beside the point. It didn’t help if he couldn’t stretch his legs out. 

“I watched a movie. It wasn’t as tantalising as the reviews promised me.” Buck shook his head, incredibly disappointed with what he had seen. He was certainly going to add that to his list of movies that he had seen that year. It was going to go into the pile of movies that he didn’t want to rate due to sheer disappointment. 

“Oh. That’s...that sucks.” Steven furrowed his eyebrows with concern. 

“So, how’s the tour been, Connie? Just as fun as a Star Destroyers tour?” Jenny asked politely as she threw her arms around both Buck and Sour Cream as she spoke. Nothing would have been as fun as a Star Destroyers tour - they all knew that. 

“I bet there’s mad peeps lining up to read your book! _ Wub wub, wicky wicky. _ ” Sour Cream chuckled as he added on some bizarre sound effects, not fighting Jenny’s arm as she dragged him closer. 

Especially a book tour. What was so fun about a book tour? 

She had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend, vomited nearly every day that she had been there, had people be there for Steven rather than herself and now she was pregnant? Being on a book tour wasn’t fun in the slightest. Why would anyone bother? 

“It’s been...it’s not as fun as a Star Destroyers tour, that’s for sure!” Connie made the quick save as she laughed awkwardly. She wasn’t quite ready to admit how desperate she was to have gone home. 

Was that what she wanted? She wasn’t sure anymore, the only thing she was sure about was how much she wanted to crawl into a bed. It didn’t even have to be her own bed, any would do. As long as she could scream face-first into a pillow and then fall asleep thinking about absolutely nothing. 

That wasn’t ever going to be the case, but she was going to wish it was. She could dream. 

At one point her dream had been to go on a book tour. It was funny what reality would eventually bring you. It certainly wasn’t the same as what she had thought about for night and night on end. It wasn’t like that at all. 

“We know that nothing could beat an SD tour, but it’s going well - right?” Jenny added. 

“Sure! It’s going well. Thanks for asking.” Connie repeated with a smile, glad that Jenny had enough interest to ask. It was nice of her to do so. 

“I couldn’t not ask about the book, which, by the way - amazing. My sister read it and she’s been recommending it to everyone. She’s the real sweetheart here and probably your biggest promoter!” Jenny began to flick through her phone to see if she could find any comments that her sister had left about the book on their many text conversations. 

“Excuse me, Kiki has nothing on my promotional skills!” Max scoffed as she folded over her arms. 

“Okay, maybe not to Max’s level - but she’s real good at promotion back home. She’s hyping it up constantly.” Jenny assured, she mostly knew that her sister was proud of her. Enough to have read the book and made sure that it showed Jenny in a positive light. It did. 

“That’s nice of her.” Connie confirmed, happy that someone was taking the time out of their day to make sure that the book got some kind of attention. 

“She’s just nice like that.” Jenny shrugged, happy to have spent the whole day hyping up how cool her sister was to everyone. 

“So, what’s happening today? What are we doing?” Steven was desperate to know how they were all going to be spending their day. 

The band, Max and Connie all stood around and stared at one another for a moment, curious to know how the rest of their day was going to have panned out. There were so many things that they had thought about doing in Seattle and as soon as the time had come, it felt as if all of their minds had gone blank. 

“I’d like to see the Space Needle.” Buck inputted, not saying much else on the subject. Everyone wanted to see the Space Needle, they had already driven past it a few times when they were in the Toober. 

It was certainly a sight that they couldn’t pass up. It would have been cool to go and see such a sight - especially to have gone to the top and seen all of the city surrounding them. The sky was pretty clear, they would have been able to see all around the city for miles! There was nothing they had to lose. 

“I think we should all go to the pointy building.” Steven nodded as he pointed over in the direction where he believed the building was. He didn’t know much about it, but everything he did know about it was whatever he had seen in the city the past hours that they had been there. That didn’t include all of the time he spent in an airport, hotel and a bookstore. 

Other than that, he was uneducated on the subject. 

“To the Space Needle!” Max pointed up in the air, happy to have gone to new heights with the rest of her crew. It was certainly a fun group activity for them all to participate in. Max hoped that she would have been able to do some of the activities that were there that scared you into believing they were terrifying! 

Leaning on the glass to make it seem as if you’re about to fall to your death? Easy. Max would have been able to do that, no problem!

Connie knew that it would have been a good trip to have gone to the Space Needle, but it didn’t help that she had gotten to that point in the day when she was starting to feel sick again. She understood that they called it morning sickness, but it seemed to have been different for everyone - Connie wasn’t experiencing sickness in the morning. The baby enjoyed the idea of kicking Connie’s ass. 

That was what she was going to experience for the next eight months and she was terrified. It was eight months of uncomfortableness now and then another eighteen years of pure hell as she attempted to raise a child to be a good person. As long as she treated them nothing like her parents had treated her through a lot of her life then she would have been happy. That wouldn’t have been fair on anyone and rather hypocritical on her part. She would have been taking very little notice of her parent’s parental advice. 

Everyone had decided that they wanted to go to the Seattle Space Needle. It was only right that they visited the location, one that was a staple of the city that they were in. There was nothing more than wanting to see the building and then see if they could get to the top to take cool photographs, overlooking the entire city. 

Steven had taken Connie’s hand, thinking that it was normal to have done so. He didn’t quite know that something like holding hands wasn’t exactly what they were doing just yet, forcing Connie to hold onto his hand very loosely. It turned out they still had a lot to work out before they were in a space where things would have returned to normal. 

Things wouldn’t ever be normal again. 

Steven didn’t want Connie to be mad at him. He knew that he had reacted a little differently to how he should have about the book, but it was something that had upset him greatly. It wasn’t as if it was something that could have been solved either. Although, despite what she had written, Steven didn’t want to be the one to hold the grudge. Especially if they had a baby on the way. 

Despite still being pretty upset about what had been written, he was still willing to push all of that aside so that he could be with Connie through it all. It was something he couldn’t help. There was no way of getting that out of the public eye now that it had been published, it was going to happen whether he liked it or not. People were going to read it and it was going to be embarrassing. He was going to have to live with that. 

What he didn’t want was for his dad to read it and for him to think any less of him. He needed to call his dad and make sure he hadn’t read that section yet and if he had to profusely apologise for his behaviour. He didn’t want his dad to ever be ashamed of him and he was worried that the contents of the book would have done that. 

“This is cool. It’s like...we’re walking on nothingness.” Jenny stood with her hands on her hips as they stood on the glass that was the only thing separating them from the huge drop to their death. 

Sure, it was a secure tourist attraction, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t terrified of it. 

“We’re really high and not even in a  _ good  _ way.” Sour Cream’s teeth chattered slightly at the thought, not wanting to step off the platform and into the middle of the room that was terrifying to even look at. 

“The many times in which I wonder whether glass is real or just a barrier from reality.” Buck stared down through the glass and looked at the city below them. It was a little terrifying. 

“That’s an interesting way of looking at it.” Steven added as he stood on the glass and looked down past his red Vans that were on the platform. They were still covered in various colours from where he had washed them in San Francisco. 

“It’s a really interesting structure.” Connie noted as she looked around the building at the details of the structural integrity of the building. She only wondered what it would have been like at the very top in high winds. Everything would have been fine. 

“Uh...where’s Max?” Sour Cream asked as he looked around for the missing member of their party. 

“Hi guys! I’m over here!” Max shouted, waving frantically from the other side of the room. The section of the room where the floor wasn’t glass. 

“Aren’t you coming over?” Jenny shouted back, wanting to gauge an answer as they all stood around one another waiting for Max. 

Max glanced down at the glass before looking around the room. It was a pretty big room and outside, all she could see was the remainder of the city. It would have been scary to have stepped out onto the glass and started walking around. It would be like she was walking on nothingness! 

“Oh, I just have to concentrate on tying my shoelaces first. I’ll be over in a second!” Max panicked as she dropped to her knees and began to fiddle with her shoelaces. The perfect excuse to not have to walk on the glass. Her knees probably would have given out anyway. 

“She’s totally scared of the glass.” Jenny snorted as she mumbled out the side of her mouth.

“I can hear you! I’m not scared of the glass, it’s my shoelaces!” Max huffed as he continued to stare down at her shoes and lace them over and over. At least if she was slow about it then she would never have to get up and go and stand with them. That would have been terrible. 

“Yeah, she’s scared of the glass and the drop beneath it.” Connie confirmed with a nod, happy to have continued to embarrass her best friend. 

They continued to walk about the Space Needle, each of them content with the way that the day was going. It didn’t help that Connie was in a position where she thought that at any moment she would have to run to the bathroom. The last thing she wanted was to vomit on Steven’s shoes again, it looked as if they had enough of that. 

“Buck and I were working on some new material.” Sour Cream mentioned to Steven as they walked around, getting a good look of the surrounding area. The city was beautiful from the view that they were getting. There was something about it that made them all feel right at home. 

“Oh yeah? What’s it like?” Steven asked as he threw his hands into his pockets and walked with the guys. The last thing he wanted to do was continue to get in the way of Connie, despite being desperate to be beside her at all times. With the baby on the way, that was the only thing he could think about. 

“The dopest riffs you’ve ever heard. I bet you’d be real good at playing what we have in mind, Steven. Would be good to jam some time after the tour.” Buck suggested, they had already made the riffs in their mind and put them onto a computer. Being able to play that on guitar was more down Steven’s street of knowledge. 

He would have been able to listen to anything and replicate it on the guitar. That was just how much talent he had when it came to music. It was incredibly impressive what he could do. 

“That would be...fun. I might be a little tied up with things though. A lot is going on right now.” Steven chuckled lightly, trying to make the best of the bad situation. Things were going to go back to normal eventually, except they weren’t. Being a dad was a whole new world. One that he wasn’t used to. 

“With the book tour?” Sour Cream asked. 

“Sure. The book tour and a load of other things, I won’t bore you with the details just yet.” Steven tried to sway away from revealing exactly what was going on. He wanted to tell the band so badly, but he knew that Connie probably would have preferred to have been around when he did. Also, Jenny was off to the side consoling Max about being in the tall building with Connie. 

“Yet? Dude, you’re keeping us waiting.” Sour Cream groaned. He didn’t enjoy being kept in the dark with all the secrets that Steven had. He always had something going on behind closed doors that the rest of the band didn’t get to find out until the last minute. Connie had taken over his life. 

“Uh...I might have to speak to Connie about it again.” Steven was a little unsure when he could reveal the secret about the baby. Did he need Connie to be around for it? He certainly wanted Jenny there too before he said anything, she would never have forgiven him if he said it to the boys first without her present. 

“Did you do...the thing?” Buck adjusted his glasses as he spoke. 

“What thing?”

“The bonding of two people who love one another through the gifting of a ring. You know the one, Steven.” 

“The proposal?” Steven whispered, despite Connie being on the other side of the room. 

“Yes, that’s the number.”

“Oh, yeah...that didn’t go to plan.”

“Did you lose the ring? Rings should be for Saturn and to wear around your neck on a chain only. Rings on fingers are dangerous.” Sour Cream inputted, despite both Steven and Buck giving him a strange look. 

“I didn’t lose the ring, I have it right here!” Steven spoke proudly, pulling the small box out of his jacket and showing it off. 

It had been a few days since he had last attempted to make any kind of proposal. It wasn’t as if everything was going as he had originally planned. Proposing to Connie would have been a lot harder now, especially when she probably would have thought that he was going to propose just because of their fight and the baby. 

There was no way for him to have swayed away from that. It was going to have been hard to make her think of anything else. Proposing right now was not the right thing to do - Steven knew that. He thought, anyway. 

“When are you going to give it to her?” Buck questioned. 

“Soon. A lot is going on. I said that.” Steven shrugged, going back to his previous point. 

“Are you going to share?” Sour Cream pressed, irritated that Steven continued to make him wait on an answer. There was so much that he could have said to him that would have filled the void within his mind. He just wanted to be a part of the conversation. 

“You should probably give her the ring. That way she’ll either accept or reject your proposal.” Buck commented, making sure that Steven was aware of the logistics of the situation. 

“Huh, I know how this works. I think.” Steven stared down at the small box before tucking it back into his pocket to conceal it away from everyone. The last thing he wanted to do was for Max, Connie and Jenny to have come over and heard the conversation. 

“Are you going to write a song about it? I could always think of a new beat. I’m blowing up, man.” Sour Cream offered, curious to know when they would have gotten back to music. 

“I’ll write something. I thought you guys didn’t want me to make an album about romance?” Steven squinted, a little confused by the two people in front of him. When it came to their music, they were always sending him mixed signals. 

“I’m certain most of our songs are about romance. It’s all about the subtext.” Buck pointed to Steven, knowing his internalised secrets for when he wrote all of the songs. 

Admittedly, Buck was right. A lot of their songs were about love and the people around you. That wasn’t so much a bad thing, but most of them didn’t particularly come from a place of happiness. The newest album was along those lines though. It had been a long time since they had published anything new. It was like a Star Destroyers hiatus. 

Steven knew that if he was going to have been a dad, there would have been plenty more Star Destroyers hiatuses in the future. It was only certain that it would have happened, considering the nature of what he was going to have to do. 

He would have been far too busy changing diapers to have played the guitar or written songs. Although, he did think about what it would have been like to have a baby that enjoyed listening to him write music. That way he would have been able to look after a baby whilst he was writing in front of what he would have considered his new biggest inspiration and who he hoped would have been his biggest fan. 

He couldn’t wait to be a dad. 

“Love is...good. I want to write about love.” Steven shrugged. Of course Steven wanted to write about love, he loved it a lot. It was perfect, at least with Connie. Well...perfect may have been the wrong word when she was practically refusing to hold his hand in a public space. They hadn’t even slept in the same bed until the previous night. 

Even then, he only believed he was able to sleep beside her because she was scared about the baby. The first night of knowing would have been terrifying if they were apart. They were in it together and that was important to both of them. They had to make sure that they were supporting one another at the very least. Steven would have done anything to have been there for her throughout that night and all of the nights to come. Things wouldn’t have been the same if she wasn’t near him. 

He wanted to be there for Connie and the baby. No matter what he was going to put his utmost effort into making sure he was there all of the time. It was important for him to do so. 

“Love is good. I agree.” Buck nodded, happy to have complied with what it was that Steven was saying. All of them very much respected the idea of love. It was something that all of them held closely, it was more or less the fact that Steven was much better at expressing it. 

Especially in recent years. 

“It would be really cool to share some news with you guys, but I need to wait for Connie. It’s important. I also want to share with Jenny.” Steven pointed behind him to the girls who were standing behind them all. 

“Oh right. Jenny would be pissed if you didn’t include her.” Sour Cream sucked air gently through his teeth. There was no way that Steven would have been able to share any major news without Jenny being there anyway. He would have been too afraid of what she was going to say about it when she did eventually find out that she had missed out on the first time. 

“Yeah, I know. I’m not going to leave Jenny out!” Steven gritted his teeth together. He wanted to tell all of them about it but was still a little nervous about what Connie would have said. He could tell that she was still a little uncomfortable with sharing the news with others. 

“So, if we go and see them - you’ll tell us?” Buck asked, still pressing on about wanting to know what Steven was talking about. They weren’t going to let it go. 

“Y-yes! Let’s just...how about over a dinner or something, maybe? I don’t know...it just seems a little awkward whilst we’re in the Space Needle.” Steven scratched the back of his neck, as much as he wanted to tell them he also wasn’t sure that this was the right place for it. Where would have been the right place? 

It was a shame that they weren’t playing shows, else the back of a venue would have been the perfect place to offload the idea that Steven and Connie were having a baby together. Everyone in the band would have made great aunts and uncles. They were going to have been so happy about the news. 

“Anything could happen in the Space Needle.” 

“That’s why I’m afraid.” Steven gritted his teeth together. 

Over on the other side of the room, Connie, Max and Jenny were all standing around one another having a bizarre conversation. Mostly around how each of them was fed up with the flights that they were on. Max claimed how much she missed being on the road and driving throughout the US like they did on the tour when they had met. 

It was a lot better than having to contend with the airports. That sucked. 

Within a short space of time, they were all back to being grounded and not hundreds of feet in the air. Although they were unsure of what they should have done next for activities, they decided to walk the city and eventually found themselves inside of a small cafe. It was nice for all of them to catch up considering they hadn’t seen one another since the last small tour they had completed in August. 

As per usual, Steven sat beside Connie inside of the cafe. Max and Sour Cream had to pull up an extra chair as there wasn’t enough room for all of them on the table where they had opted to have some of the best coffee in the city. At least, that was what the sign on the door had claimed. 

As much as Steven was protective over Connie, he was also excited to share the news. It had been itching at him all day to tell everyone the news that he held so close. It was something that as soon as he found out he wanted to tell the world. He was going to have been a dad and that was so important to him! 

“So, like, books - how’s it going?” Jenny questioned before sipping on the warm beverage that she had ordered. All of them focused their attention on Connie who had been rather flustered for most of the day. Heading into the evening and she was still not feeling too great. 

At least now she knew the cause for her sickness. Before they had left the tourist attraction, Connie had vomited inside of the Space Needle’s bathroom facilities. At least she could have said that she had vomited inside of the Seattle Space Needle and that sure was something. 

“Oh, it’s going well! I think. People are enjoying the book.” Connie shrugged, not wanting to get into her book too much. It felt as if that was all anyone wanted to speak about anymore, which wasn’t exactly a bad thing - but it was frustrating. She was stuck in between always wanting to speak about it and wanting everyone to be silent on the subject. 

After everything that had been mentioned about Steven in the book, she was looking forward to people being quiet about it. It was something that she didn’t want him to bring up once more. They still weren’t in the place where they wanted to be when it came to their relationship. 

Connie knew that it was something that they would have both gotten through, but they needed time. They needed the time to process what they had both done to one another. Neither of them was in the right and neither of them was in the wrong. In a way, the fight was rather equal when it came down to it. 

“So, what was it that you two wanted to share with us?” Buck mentioned, perhaps it wasn’t something that he should have said as everyone’s face dropped. 

Max’s eyes widened at the comment, slowly putting her drink down as she sat between the two parties, Jenny opposite. She knew that they would have been referring to the baby. 

Connie glanced over to Steven, even though they had briefly had the conversation, she wasn’t aware that it was something that they were going to be sharing right there and then. It was something that Connie had wanted to keep a secret for a little longer. What if her parents found out? She was unsure how they would have found out through the band - but the anxiety was there! 

“Uhh...can I?” Steven looked at Connie, his eyes pleading for the confirmation that he could tell his best friends the one thing that had been on his mind for the past day. It was something that he couldn’t stop thinking about and he was sure that he would never have been able to. 

Even if Connie had said no, he would have found it hard to have kept it a secret for much longer. Connie felt put on the spot, feeling as if she was unable to say no. She should have felt happy about it, considering it was very much a happy thing. She was happy about it and she also wanted the band to know, it just felt as if everything was suddenly going so fast. 

They hadn’t even properly apologised to one another yet for the way that they had behaved. It was going to have been a long and bumpy road if they didn’t. 

“Well, I don’t see why not...it is good news.” Connie shrugged as for the first time that day she reached out for Steven’s hand, grabbing his hand gently underneath the table. Steven’s eyes lit up at both her comment and the way she had held his hand. She did love him still! That was good confirmation of that fact. 

“Okay, okay! Guys! I have news.” Steven got a little too excited as he shuffled in his seat and took a deep breath. Buck, Sour Cream and Jenny all sat around the table and waited with bated breath. 

“Oh jeez, just tell them - you might explode.” Max groaned, internally happy that the couple were going to have been having a baby. That was wonderful news and she couldn’t wait to have been the best influence on the kid. Ha. It was going to have been great!

Connie laughed at Max, realising that the moment when he told his friends was going to be one that was sweet. Steven was adorable as his hands shook with excitement, once again shuffling in his seat and taking another breath. Connie watched him with anticipation, knowing that he was going to be saying the words. 

“We’re having a baby!” Steven grinned excitedly as he spoke. Despite all of the things that he had been through with Connie the past couple of days, nothing would have been able to compare with the amount of love he had for her. 

“Woah!”

“Holy shit.” 

“Baby Star Destroyer!” Sour Cream gasped. 

“Yeah!” Steven laughed, loving the name. Connie couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the nickname that the baby had already been given. 

“Oh, I’m totally coining that!” Max shook her finger in front of them, pointing over at Sour Cream. 

“They sure are. Baby Star Destroyer.” Connie grinned as she used her spare hand to touch her stomach where a small human being was growing. It was still insanity to her that there was a human growing inside of her. There was something about it that didn’t disturb her, but it made her somewhat unsettled by the fact. 

“Congratulations, guys - that’s awesome!” Jenny cheered a little as she spoke, excited to have been a part of the big news. She was so pleased that they had told them all the news, it would have been nice to have ended the day on such a positive note. 

“Thanks, it’s really weird to think about - but I’m excited!” Steven tittered as he glanced over at Connie with a smile. She made sure to smile back at him sweetly. He was trying to make sure that he was in the clear when it came to his relationship. It was a little too soon to be able to tell if that was correct or not. They needed to have a proper conversation about it before anything was to be confirmed. 

“Steven’s going to be a daddy. Connie’s going to be a mommy. It’s all so exciting.” Max squealed a little as she made the comments, thinking about how much she couldn’t quite wait until she was officially an aunt. 

She was already an aunt, but this would have been to Steven and Connie’s kid. That would have been even more fun than anything. It was great to know that she probably would have tried to babysit the kid as much as possible and that would have been the most fun that she would have in years. It was going to be great when the kid could start going to shows! Max was going to teach them how to crowd surf.

“It’s pretty scary, to be honest.” Connie chuckled, as much as she was excited about it, the fear within her was pretty good at overtaking that feeling she was having. There was so much on her mind about it, all of her thoughts couldn't have been positive. 

“Pushing something the size of a watermelon out of you does sound pretty painful.” Max commented, happy to have added to the conversation. 

“It’s really that big?” Sour Cream’s face dropped. 

“It’s a baby. It’s growing inside of Connie and will eventually come out, a brand new human being. The circle of life. It’s real cool.” Buck nodded at Connie with confidence. 

“Gee, thanks, Buck.” Connie sighed, his comments just making her a little more anxious. 

“No problem.”

“We’re just going to try and keep track of how big the baby is along the way. I think it’s like...a grape right now.” Max tapped her finger against her chin, curious to know more about the pregnancy. It was something that was both super weird and super wonderful. It both fascinated and creeped out Max.

“Baby grape!” Sour Cream cheered. 

“Oh. I hate that.” Connie grumbled with a smile. 

“I’m so happy you two are having a baby! You’re like...my favourite ship!” Jenny clenched her fists together. 

“Me too!” Max shouted a little louder than anyone else expected. 

“What was that about boats?” Buck questioned, a little lost with where the conversation had gotten to. 

“It’s when...nevermind.” Connie pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“Either way, I'm happy that there’s going to be a mini Steven to take over in the band when Steven decides that he doesn’t want to play anymore.” Sour Cream shrugged. 

“Hey, I’m not going to be stopping anytime soon! I’m really hoping the kid likes our music though…” Steven stared down at Connie’s stomach with concern. What if the kid didn’t like the music that he created? He was going to have to educate them on the intricacies of emo or change up his style to suit them better. 

Would playing music to the baby before it was born help out at all? Steven was interested to know, but he was ready to put off his Boogling until later on. 

“I’m sure they’ll love it.” Connie smiled, giving Steven the reassurance he needed. 

“Baby Star Destroyer is going to be kickass.” Buck smirked, happy that the couple had shared the news. 

“It’s Connie’s kid - of course it’s going to be kickass!” Max scoffed, leaning out of her chair slightly to make her point. 

Connie blushed slightly at her best friend’s comment. She was glad that Max thought that way about her, it was nice. Especially when Steven had been giving her mixed signals for the past couple of days. Then again, she had been just as bad at making sure that they were in a good place with one another. 

“Thanks, Max.” Connie nodded over at her best friend, holding her stomach and looking down. It would have been strange for her stomach to grow as the baby got bigger and bigger. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that part just yet. 

Although, time would go fast and she knew that all too well. 

Just as the evening had run away from them, the band eventually had to make their way back to their hotel room that they were staying in for the night. It was only a quick visit, but they were happy that they had stuck around to see Connie on tour. It was everything that they could have done to support her at the time. 

Max, Connie and Steven would have been travelling to the next city in the morning, but that didn’t mean that the band had to go home straight away. It was likely that they would have been able to stick around Seattle for a little longer the next day to view some more sights before they had to go home. 

It would have been nice to have seen them in the morning before they left. 

Steven paced inside of the hotel room as Connie read a book, tucked up in the bed. Connie hadn’t said a word about spending the night with Steven and not being in the same room as Max. Steven didn’t want to mention anything about it either, meaning that he was stuck figuring out what the rest of their relationship would entail. 

Neither of them spoke much that night. In a way, it hurt them both. A simple ‘goodnight’ as the lights were turned off. Surprisingly, no kisses were exchanged and Steven tried his hardest not to snuggle up to her for comfort. He had to stick his ground. He was mad…

He couldn’t stay mad forever. He was going to have to wait it out for a while to prove a point. He couldn’t. He needed to. He had to prove a point. He didn’t. 

Steven turned over to face away from Connie and hugged himself, not wanting to get too close. Things were bitter and he felt cold in more ways than one. This was far from what he had wanted, but he certainly didn’t want all of those things said about him in the book. 

He closed his eyes and tried not to think too much into everything that had happened. 

It was hard not to think when you were terrified about the love of your life hating you...

That night, they both struggled to sleep. 


	11. Minneapolis, MN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven's a little embarrassed to admit his past to his father.

Steven woke up from a sleep that only served to cause him constant distress. He had woken up more times than he could count, which was surprising as Connie had managed to stay asleep throughout the night. In fact, she was still sleeping when Steven saw the sunrise through the blinds of their hotel room. 

He stared up at the ceiling blankly lying on his back in the bed. 

It was nice to have Connie beside him inside of the bed once more, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t still feeling somewhat empty about the last couple of days. Things had been rough and there was certainly a lot that he had to think about. Although, despite that - he still wanted to propose. 

He was a little scared that with everything that had happened that the proposal would have been nothing more than a cry for help. A desperate attempt for him to try and keep her with him for as long as possible. He was internally convinced that even though they were having a baby that the fight that they had ruled over it all. It simply wasn’t the case - but it did cause Steven to worry. 

Worry enough for him to have gotten out of bed before Connie had woken up and trailed downstairs through the lobby of the hotel. He positioned himself on a bench outside of the hotel. It was pretty quiet at that time in the morning, which meant that if he wanted to have a private conversation he may have been able to get away with it. 

Steven sat outside and hovered over his dad’s name on the contacts. He had been in back and forth text conversations with his dad since he had found out about the baby, but they hadn’t had a chance to speak to one another on the phone. It would have been nice to have heard their voices considering. 

Despite knowing that he wanted to call his dad, he wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to speak about. Obviously, he wanted to make sure that he could bring up the baby. It was a conversation that he knew he would have to have with his father that wasn’t five minutes and in front of Connie. 

There were a lot of things that he wanted to ask about being a father and simply not enough time to ask them. Sure, nine months seemed like a long time - but it was looking a lot more like eight and that meant that time was running out. There was no way he would have been able to get that much dad training in during that short amount of time. He needed more! 

The only place that he was going to get it was from his father and of course...the internet. Although, he was starting to not enjoy the latter as he tumbled across all kinds of pages that were starting to terrify him. He didn't want to look at certain things that it was showing him. 

It was scary! He didn’t want to see anything that wasn’t remotely positive. He knew that his father would have been good at making sure all of the things that he spoke about was going to have been something that he would have used. Information that he could have absorbed and used for future reference when he found himself stuck in a situation where he didn’t quite know how to be the best dad that he believed he could have been. 

That was the most important thing to him - making sure that he got this whole dad thing correct. 

He continued to stare down at the contact on his phone before finally deciding that the best thing to do was to just bite the bullet and call his father. There was no way that his dad was ever going to judge him for the questions that he had or the things that he wanted to speak about when it came to his relationship with Connie and the baby. 

In a way, Steven knew that Greg was just happy that he was finally settling down. Years ago it was clear that Steven was in a place where he was in constant pursuit of love. Greg was worried and knew that his behaviour wasn’t healthy. Even Steven knew that it wasn’t the best way for him to have found love and it only would have served to hurt him more. 

At the time, it didn’t matter. Steven just wanted someone to care about him. Even if it was a lie. Even if it was at two in the morning inside of a bathroom in a music venue. 

Nothing mattered until he had found Connie. That was when everything had changed and his father had been so pleased to have found out. Nothing was going to have been better than his son finally finding the happiness that he had desired since the beginning. 

Steven held the phone to his ear as he looked out at the scenery around him. There wasn’t much, but at least it was something to look at as he anxiously awaited his dad to answer. He knew that his dad was an incredibly busy man, so it wasn’t always likely that he would have picked up. Although, whenever Greg saw Steven’s name and picture flash up on his phone he knew it was a call that he needed to answer without any hesitation. 

That way, he knew it wasn’t someone in the industry trying to call him for no reason other than to strike some kind of deal with a band. 

“Hi, Dad.” Steven spoke softly through the phone as he heard the line on the other side being picked up. 

“Hi, Steven! How are you doing? Everything okay?” Greg questioned in a friendly tone, the same tone that he always used with Steven. Despite just having woken up, he was more than ready to spend some time speaking to his son. 

“I’m okay, how are you?” 

“Just about to head off to the studio at the moment. Y’know...it would be nice to have Max to come home, things are piling up. Can’t wait for her to get back!” Greg laughed, realising how much he relied on the woman who simply had the title of a promoter and yet managed to dip her toes in pretty much anything to do with the record label. 

Max made sure that her face and name were known everywhere. Everyone knew Max in the office and she was slowly making her way down Greg Universe’s contact list to make sure she had come in contact with each of them at least once. 

One day, she was sure she would have been able to pull off exactly what it was that Greg had done with his own business. It was going to be tough, but she was certainly up for the challenge. Eventually. 

“Oh, she’s having a good time here! It’s...been an interesting couple of days.” Steven chuckled nervously as he thought about all of the things that had happened. 

It had been eventful. He dared to even say that due to the contents it had been a little more eventful than the rest of the tours that he had been on with Connie. 

At least in all of the other tours, she hadn’t turned around and said that she was...pregnant. 

That had been terrifying. 

“How’s Connie? Have you guys been speaking about the baby a lot? I guess once that happens, it’s all you can think about!” Greg laughed, despite his tone coming across as rather humorous, Steven knew that there was a lot of truth to his words. 

“Yeah...I can’t stop thinking about it.” Steven ran his fingers through his hair as he spoke. Completely stressed with the idea of being a dad. It was going to have been a tough year. 

“Oh, I remember that all too well. It’s tough, but you’ll get through it. At the end of it all, you’ll have a lovely new Universe to welcome to the family!” Greg chuckled, even through the phone Steven could tell that he was grinning. Proud to have been a part of the conversation. 

Steven hadn’t thought of it that way. The idea that there was going to have been another Universe inside of the household. Finally someone inside of the family that he had somehow contributed to. The idea that he was now going to have been one of the people inside of the Universe household to have made a baby and added to the bloodline. 

It was weird for him to have thought of it that way. 

Steven hadn’t asked much about his mom since she had passed away. It was one of the subjects that he tried his hardest to avoid as he knew how much it would upset his dad if he were to have kept going on about it. It was always tough for people to grieve, but it didn’t help when his mother’s death was just about anywhere and everywhere. 

In the newspaper. On the television. On the radio. On the internet. 

It was hard for Greg to have ever escaped the reality that he faced every waking moment. Something that he wished he had never had to go through and yet he couldn’t stop thinking about it when he did. There was no way that he was ever going to have been able to stop thinking about the time he had lost the love of his life. 

Although, Steven knew that it would have been weird for him to have brought up his mother when there was no context to the situation. It felt as if it had been long enough that Steven could have spoken about his mother - guilt-free. Except, no matter what he tried he would have always felt some kind of guilt about mentioning the person that had hurt his father so badly. 

“What was it like when mom was pregnant with me?” Steven took a chance in asking the question, a little unsure if Greg would have been okay with him asking the question in the first place. 

Steven was faced with some silence down the phone. Something that he hadn’t faced from his father in a while. Something that he hoped his father wouldn’t have given him. All he wanted to do was to have been able to relate to what his father potentially felt when he had found out that he was going to have been born. It was important for Steven to have known what that was like. 

It was something that he wanted to know. He hadn’t asked much about it in the past. This was the perfect opportunity and learning curve to have figured something out between them all and what it was they wanted to do in the future when discussing that kind of topic. They knew that it was going to have been difficult no matter what they decided to discuss and when that happened to be.

“It was...wonderful.” Greg spoke softly, a little unsure how else he wanted to phrase it. Finding out that Rose was pregnant with Steven had been one of the best days of his entire life. There wasn’t any other way to have put it. 

“Really?” Steven couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Steven had also been incredibly happy when it came to finding out about the baby. 

Sure, he had been shocked and he was still struggling to get his head around the idea of being a father - but that didn’t mean that the miracle of it all was simply...amazing. 

“Yeah! I couldn’t quite believe it. For a start, your mother was probably a lot more excited than I was. Then, she - she told the Gems! They were pretty excited too. Pearl was a little cold about it for a while, but then she warmed up to the idea.” Greg explained the situation that had unfolded before he was born. 

It was always interesting to hear that kind of story. It was a shame that his dad never really wanted to speak about them anymore. When he was a kid he used to grab his guitar and tell him stories about his mother whilst they sat in the back of the van. It was a nice sentiment, despite Greg not having the heart to do such a thing in recent years. Things had been a lot tougher recently. 

Greg wasn’t sure why - but grief had no true explanation attached to it. There was never a right or wrong. 

“That’s how I feel...I’m still in shock.” 

“Steven, I’m still in shock and you’ve been alive for over twenty years.” Greg laughed, causing Steven to chuckle along with him.

“That’s too long!” 

“Parenthood is tough, kiddo. You just have to do the best you can.” 

Steven thought about his words, feeling a little deflated that his father still wasn’t able to give him all of the answers. Perhaps it was something that didn’t even have answers for? It was starting to sound as if it was something that just...was. 

"What if I can't do that?" Steven was a little upset about the idea. 

"You're going to do your very best, you always do." Greg confirmed, wanting nothing more than to fill Steven with confidence. 

It was going to have been a long time until he was a father, but he was going to have to think about it for over half a year. It was going to be another kind of stressful. Another anxiety that he wished he had the mental capacity to handle. Things were going to be different for the rest of his life and he needed to come to that realisation. 

"Can I...speak to you about something?" Steven practically stuttered as he spoke. There had been something on his mind. 

"Sure, kiddo. What's up?"

Steven looked around, making sure that nobody was going to jump up behind him and find out what he was talking about. He wanted to make sure the conversation between him and his dad stayed private. He pondered on how he wanted to break the news to his dad. He just needed someone to talk to...that wasn't Max or the band. 

"...We got into a really big fight."

"About the baby?"

"No, this was before she told me. We don't fight very often, but she wouldn't even sleep in our room together." Steven sighed, happy to know that she was now sleeping back in bed with him. That didn't make up for the time that she had spent away from him. The memory still left him with a crushing emptiness on the inside. 

"Oh. Steven, I'm sorry."

"She put something in the book, Dad. It was really personal and...I'm sorry." Steven pinched the bridge of his nose as he fought back his tears, trying his hardest not to break down and failing miserably. 

"Woah, Steven! What's the matter? You can tell me anything, talk to me." Greg practically panicked at the sound of his son's croaks. 

"I messed up, Dad. I really messed up." Steven sobbed softly at the thought of admitting his past errors to his father. 

"What happened?" 

Steven didn't want to admit the full story to his father. The full story included all of the people that he had slept with over the years he had spent on tour as a young bachelor. Something he so desperately didn't want to be. Greg only assumed that his panic was from something he had said to Connie during this 'fight'. 

"I know she was pushed to put in as much as she could and I know it's just a line, but...I didn't want you to know that about me. I didn't want the world to know. I didn't want you to be ashamed of me..." Steven sniffed, barely about to control the years anymore.

"I would never be ashamed of you, Steven." Greg assured, Steven struggling to believe him. 

"I don't want you to read the book and feel ashamed of me." Steven corrected. 

"I am so proud of you, for everything you've done! I'm partway through the book right now and I have to say...Connie is a fantastic writer." 

Steven couldn't let his dad see it without him understanding what it was that had been written. Connie had done a bad thing by putting the line in the book, but it was partially Steven's fault for not setting his boundaries with how much he wanted to be mentioned. Overall, it was a horrible mistake to have made. It wasn't something he ever wanted to admit to his dad. 

"I want to tell you about it before you read it. I don't want you to think any less of me." Steven panicked, wanting nothing more than for his dad to understand where he was coming from. Seeing the line would have only led to questions that he wouldn't have been able to answer on the spot. He needed to think about them first. 

"What is it, Steven?" Greg was becoming increasingly concerned over what his son may have said. What was it that he had done that he was so afraid of telling his father? They shared most things. 

"I was really lonely, Dad. I just wanted to find someone like Connie. When I met Connie I stopped! The moment I met her - I never did it again! I'll never do it again. Ever." Steven continued to be vague on the subject, still afraid to admit the truth. 

"Do what?" 

"The book says that I slept with a lot of people, but what I really mean is, well...I...I did sleep with a lot of people - it's just not what you think!" 

It was much worse than what Greg thought. Although, he did have a varied collection of thoughts on the matter. 

"That's not what I was expecting." Greg sucked air through his teeth at the thought of his son sleeping around with different people. He had hoped to have taught him better. Maybe it was Greg's fault for not raising him right? 

"I-I...I was always really respectful! I always asked for consent and used protection. I would never do anything someone else didn't want to do." Steven ran his spare hair through his hair as he began to stress. "It was just...it was a lot."

"A lot? Well, I'm proud of you for telling me. I mean, your old man used to be a bit of a romantic too. It can be hard not to be when you're in this business. Everyone looks up to you and you're in the spotlight - people love you! Most people in your situation have probably been with over twenty people, which, in a way is pretty...uh..." Greg attempted to make light of the situation. 

"How about nearly seventy?"

"Seventeen? Yeah, you're beating your old man by a few - a lot." Greg chuckled. 

"No, Dad - seventy." Steven corrected with a sigh, feeling incredibly embarrassed. 

“Seven, zero?” 

“Not exactly, only one away! I’ll never get there though, not now that I’m with Connie. I would never-” Steven began to spit his words, feeling overly nervous about what he was saying. He had every right to be terrified of what his dad would have to say on the subject. He didn’t want to have to admit it to his dad, but it would have been better than finding out inside of the book. 

“I know! I know! You don’t need to explain yourself to me. I just...I wish you would have spoken to me about it sooner.” Greg sighed, sad that this was the first he had heard of Steven’s escapades. 

How did it get to that point? How did things get so bad? 

Steven had been incredibly independent since he was seventeen, which meant that from the moment he left home he was trying to find someone who wouldn’t leave him. Someone who he could love and be loved by. It was a hard thing to find, as Steven quickly discovered - considering all of the people that knew who he was were only interested in sex. 

People didn’t want relationships, especially not with a frontman of a band. That was more of a one night stand that they could check off their bucket list rather than something that lasted a lifetime. 

Steven couldn’t have spoken about something so personal previously, it would have only served to hurt him. Greg knew that he had been with a lot of people, especially from the way that he hid most of his band activities from him. The way that he often disappeared after shows. Greg was worried that his son would have been caught up in drugs, but he wasn’t sure if this had been worse. 

“I haven’t even thought about it in a long time, I love Connie so much. I didn’t think that it was worth bringing up - I’ve been happier. Connie is...everything I was looking for and more.” Steven broke out in a small smile at the thought. He had stopped his pursuit for love the moment that he laid eyes on Connie, she truly was everything that he ever needed. 

“I know how much you care about Connie.”

“I got really upset about her writing that in the book...is that...wrong of me? She wrote about the one thing I didn’t want in there. What if someone picks up on the words and the band is cancelled? I wouldn’t know what to do - that isn’t fair on everyone. I didn’t do anything...wrong!” Steven felt horrible about the way he had reacted, despite people justifying his actions. He had every right to be mad about what she had put out for the general public to see. 

“I’m sure the band will be fine, you’ll all be fine. Connie should have spoken to you about what she was putting in the book, but did you tell her what you did and didn’t want in there?” 

“Yes. Well, some of it. I didn’t mention this, but I thought that not telling the world about that would have been obvious. I told her in confidence. I told her when we first got together because I wanted to be honest, I didn’t think it was something I should have kept a secret from her, but it’s also something that I didn’t think she would have shared with the world.” Steven sighed, kicking his feet back and forth in a slight sway. 

“It’s good that you told her straight away, I’m sure you being honest with her was important. I understand where you’re both coming from, but you really should have lined out everything you didn’t want to be written. Connie can’t be to blame if you never specified what it was you did and didn’t want.” Greg spoke softly down the phone, trying to meet Steven in the middle of where he stood on the matter. 

“Right. I understand. I should have been more black and white.” Steven nodded, feeling a little upset that he would have to be more specific in the future. He wished it was something that Connie just...knew. She should have known. She couldn’t have known...exactly. 

“You both have very good points. The band isn’t going to be cancelled either, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Greg made sure to speak with sympathy. He could have outright made Steven uncomfortable by pushing onto the idea that he may have done something wrong - but he would have never have done that. He trusted his son enough to know that he was telling the truth about the people he had slept with. 

“I didn’t. I promise. I would never-”

“I know.”

“Dad...I don’t know what to do. The whole world knows that I’m a terrible person, I have a baby on the way and now I can’t propose to the love of my life because I’m afraid that she hates me!” Steven sighed heavily, trying to fight back his tears and failing miserably. There was no way of getting out of the emotion that he held. 

“You’re not a terrible person and I’m sure that Connie doesn’t hate you. You had every right to your reaction, it sounds like you were both on pretty equal grounds.” Greg knew how angry his son could get, especially at a moment’s notice. It would have been hard for him to have controlled his emotions after finding out what was written in the book and Greg knew it. It wouldn’t have been easy on either of them. 

“Do you think I should propose still? It feels...like a bad time.” Steven clenched his teeth together at the thought. She would have said no for sure if he asked her now. 

“Connie is going to love you no matter what, couples have fights all of the time! Your mother and I got into plenty of disagreements. We never quite agreed on a lot of things and she was also pretty stubborn. I usually lost, but hey - with love comes the battles you have to face through it together too.” Greg gave Steven the advice that he needed to hear. 

“I just want to be with her. I feel like I messed up.” Steven looked down sadly, feeling so much guilt for the situation that he had found himself in. The worst part was how they were both at fault for the argument that they had together. 

“Steven...she’s going to love it whenever you propose. That girl loves you so much!” Greg chuckled, knowing all too well how much love Connie had in her heart for Steven. They were perfect for one another. 

“...yeah…” Steven sighed with a little smile crawling up his face. He needed to make sure that he filled his mind with the positive side of the argument for the proposal. He needed to do it because he wanted to and he loved her, there was no reason for him not to.

His only issue is that he didn’t want it to seem as if he wanted to propose to make sure that she stayed with him. Sure, in a way he wanted that - but he didn’t want it to seem as if he was taking the step because she had just argued with him and because she was pregnant. He had been planning this for a long time, a long time before either of those things happened and that was sure something. 

“It’s really important to me that you’re doing okay and you know you can speak to me any time, right?” Greg assured. 

“Yeah, I know, Dad. Thank you.” Steven had found it incredibly awkward to tell his dad about all of his sexual partners, but it felt nice to not have to hide that secret anymore. What didn’t feel nice was how he was afraid that his dad would judge him for it. Think differently about him. 

Deep down, Steven knew that would never happen - but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to freak out about it on the surface. 

“About the other thing...don’t worry about it. We’ve all done things that we regret in our past. I would never hold that against you.” Greg spoke with his wise words as per usual. Sure, Greg was a little shocked and somewhat disappointed that his son had been with so many people - it certainly wasn’t how he had been raised. Although, perhaps that was partially Greg’s fault for not being there for him enough. Work had practically sucked him down a hole he would never escape from. 

“Thanks, Dad. I should probably go…apologise for real now.” Steven spoke in a sad tone, worried that he would have to cut his dad off. Mostly so that he could go and join Connie back in bed. He needed to speak to her, more so than he usually would.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t briefly apologised - but he wanted to make it a little more recognisable. The last time they had apologised to one another was when they had found out about the baby, which seemed as if it was a slight cop-out for what had happened. It wasn't much of an apology, more of a 'we'll deal with it later'. They needed to deal with it now. 

“Good luck and let me know how the proposal goes. Give it a few days at the very least!” Greg snorted, terrified that his son was going to hang up the phone and plan a proposal. Things needed to be worked out between them before any of that happened. 

“I will. Bye!”

“Speak to you later.”

Steven pulled the phone away from the side of his face and sighed heavily as he hung up the call. He held his phone in his hand as he looked around him at the hotel parking lot that they were staying in. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. He was going to have to go back to the room and figure out what he wanted to say to Connie. 

Steven didn’t particularly think that he was the one to have apologised for his behaviour, considering Connie was the one that had written it inside of the book for the whole world to see. He did freak out though and that was enough to apologise. He couldn’t have been more embarrassed by the idea that he had been the one to bring it up. He certainly hadn’t expected Sadie to have said anything about it. 

He took a deep breath before standing up and heading back to the hotel room. It wouldn’t have been long before they would have to meet up with Max, although, it was pretty early in the morning when he had tumbled out of bed. It didn’t help that he had been struggling to sleep.

His conversation with his dad had aided him in the things that he wanted to do, but that didn’t mean it was completely over just yet. He walked back up to the hotel room and quietly let himself back in. It was nice that even though they had a rather large fight that Connie was still willing for him to sleep in the same bed as her. 

Sure, it hadn’t been that way the first couple of nights - but after finding out about the baby she wanted nothing more than for Steven to have been beside her side, no matter how mad she was with him. 

“Where did you go?” Connie questioned with a slight groan, still trying to wake herself up as the sunrise bled through the curtains in the hotel room. 

Steven took his jacket off and threw it over the chair before sitting on the edge of the bed opposite her. The side where he had slept that night. 

“I just...called my dad.” Steven sighed, only ever wanting to provide Connie with the truth. Connie knew that Steven wouldn’t lie to her and had every bit of trust for him. If that’s what he said he was doing, he was doing exactly that. 

“Oh. Is everything okay?” Connie asked, reaching out slightly as a way to get him to turn around and be a little closer to her. Despite both of them being somewhat cold with each other, they were still on the brink of wanting to be closer at all times. 

“Yes, but...not really.” Steven paused for a second as he threaded his fingers together and turned around so that he was facing her. “Are you still mad at me?” 

Connie dipped her eyebrows with sympathy as he looked towards her. There was no way she was going to be able to answer how she truly felt when he was looking at her like that. Sure, she was still mad at him - but perhaps not in the same way that she was a few days ago. 

“A little bit. Are you still mad with me?” Connie countered, curious to know his answer. 

“Well...a little bit.” Steven admitted with a small sigh. He couldn’t deny the fact he was still hurt over what had been said inside of the book. 

Sure, it was a lot better now that his dad knew about the situation he had been through - but that didn’t entirely help in the long run. It was still an awkward and embarrassing thing to have out in the world and there was still a possibility that people could have taken it out of context and forced the band into cancellation. 

“I guess that means we’re even - right?” Connie attempted to smile at him, receiving a similar grin back from him. 

“Yeah, it does.” 

Connie could feel the disconnect between them both. It had never been that way - ever. Even the little arguments that they had gotten into about things in the past had never been like this. Connie had found out she was pregnant, feeling as if that was the only reason why they had started talking somewhat normally again. 

They liked to pretend that things were normal when they clearly weren’t. 

“Hey, Steven…” Connie whispered, sitting up slightly as she reached out to him, Steven matching her seating position in the bed. 

“Yeah?”

“I’m really sorry. About...everything. The book, the way I acted, the signings, the baby-”

“Why are you apologising about the baby?” Steven’s facial expression dropped to one of sadness.

“I just…I’m sorry everything came all at once.” Connie reached over for his hand, curious to know if he would allow her to take it. 

Steven didn’t move as Connie gently threaded her fingers between his as a way to connect them both. She wanted to make things better, but things would never have been the way that she wanted them to be without that push. 

“It’s...not your fault.”

“The book is my fault. I should have listened to you. We should have spoken more about it.” Connie felt incredibly guilty for the things that she had written. It was something that she would have never been able to reverse now. People had already consumed the media inside of the book. 

“It’s...not okay. I wish you’d have spoken to me about it first.” Steven looked away, feeling hurt that she hadn’t consulted him on the sensitive topic. 

“Steven, I’m so sorry.” Connie reiterated, unsure how else she was going to solve the issue. He held tightly onto her hand. Perhaps a little tighter than usual. 

“It’s a couple of lines and I shouldn’t have reacted the way that I did. I’m...sorry too.” Steven looked over at Connie with sympathy in his eyes, feeling guilty that they argued in the first place. 

They were both very equal when it came to who was right and who was wrong. They both had valid arguments on either side and there was no way of claiming who was correct in their actions. 

“It’s okay...you’re allowed to be angry about it.”

“I don’t want to be angry about it.”

“You don’t have to be if you don’t want to, but you are  _ allowed _ to feel that way. I’m...struggling at signings again.”

“How?” Steven was curious to know, especially if there was some way that he would have been able to help the situation. 

“People are still there for you.”

“Connie-”

“I know, it’s always going to be a problem. I-I don’t want you to go home though! I want you to stay here with me and...with the baby.” Connie nearly choked on her words, desperate for him not to get the wrong idea about it. She needed to be sure he wasn’t going to bring up the idea. 

Steven’s mouth fell slightly ajar. The idea of Connie carrying his baby was still bizarre to him. There was something about it which was both fantastic and terrifying. They were going to have a baby together...that sure was something. 

Hearing the words was...a lot. Connie wanted him to stay with her and the baby that they were having together! That was all that Steven needed to hear to know that things were going to be okay. He loved her far too much to deny her of any of it. Of course he was going to stay with her...and the baby! 

“I’m going to be there for you, always.  _ Both  _ of you.” Steven reached over to brush a stray hair away from Connie’s face. He was never going to leave either of them, no matter where they were or what they were doing. Going home from the tour would have been the worst mistake in the world. There was no way that he would have even been able to bring himself to think that doing that would be a good idea. 

Connie placed her palm on top of his hand that was nearing her face once more, she wanted to hold him. It had been a couple of days since they had felt any kind of connection to one another that wasn’t one of the emotions that came with finding out about the baby. Sure, Steven was incredibly excited, but their shared connection dipped after finding out about the baby. 

She gently turned her head and kissed his hand. He smiled at the gesture, happy that she was in a place where kisses were acceptable. Even if it was just a simple peck, it meant everything to Steven. Things had been hard and it was even harder to gauge what was going to be wrong and what was going to be right. 

“I’m so glad I have you, Steven. I don’t ever want to lose you.”

“You’re never going to lose me.” His statement was bold, but one of good intention. He was never going to leave Connie. There wasn’t a single chance where that would have happened. 

“I know, that’s one of the many reasons why you’re so wonderful. You’re so sweet and funny and lovable and kind and handsome and...I love you.” Connie smiled as she spoke the words that had a million lovely reasons for being some of the best things that Steven had heard. He loved hearing the words more than anything. 

She loved him. 

“I love you too. So much. I...I don’t know what I would do without you. I was...really scared that you would hate me.” Steven nearly choked on his words. 

“I couldn’t hate you. I should never have written anything in the book! I didn’t mean anything by it, I promise.” A single tear trickled down the side of Connie’s face as she spoke with a panicked tone, terrified that Steven would have continued to be upset with her. 

“No! I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I just...I was shocked and I was scared of what people thought of me. It’s scary. I’m not proud of who I used to be.” 

“But if you weren’t who you used to be, you wouldn’t be who you are today. You should be proud of who you are now.” Connie smiled through her tears, noticing that Steven had also started to allow his own tears to fall. 

“You should too.”

“Me?”

“You’ve achieved so much!”

“I don’t know…”

“Aw, come on! You’ve done so much! Graduation? Writing a book? Y-you’re having a baby!” Steven laughed at his last comment, excited once again at the thought. Every time that he mentioned it he felt the sheer feeling of joy spread through him. It was beautiful. 

“Y-yeah, I guess.” Connie went a little shy as she thought about all of the things that she had done over the years that they had been together. Steven certainly helped her come out of her shell and become the person that she knew she wanted to be. It seemed as if she had done the same in aiding him. 

“I’m sorry, Connie.”

“I’m sorry too, Steven.” 

“You’re still my girlfriend, right?” Steven wiped away his tears before reaching over to Connie and wiping away her tears too. 

“Of course I am, silly.” Connie moved closer to Steven and pressed her lips against his, pushing gently as they held one another. 

Nothing. Nothing would have split them apart. Even arguments that they may or may not have had in the future. They were going to make sure that they stuck with each other for as long as they possibly could. Steven hoped that one day he would have been able to say ‘until death do us part’, but he would have to figure out how to propose first. 

Steven kissed her a couple of times, happy to have been invited to her touch that he had been craving for the past couple of days. Admittedly, they had both cried a little as they kissed. At one point over the last couple of days, they had both thought that they were going to leave each other. 

It was a silly thing to have thought when they were so close that it was hard for them to have done much else than to have been a couple. It was important to them both to stick through anything and everything together. 

The couple ended up spending the rest of the morning together before they needed to go and meet with the rest of the band to finally say goodbye. There wasn’t much that needed to have been said between the two of them as Steven twirled strands of her hair through his fingers, Connie lying on his chest listening to his steady heartbeat. The nicest part about it was that they didn’t need words, they just wanted to catch up on the time that they had missed out on being close. 

They both appreciated their time spent with one another. It was important for them to have held each other for a long as they could. Connie had set an alarm on her phone in case they fell asleep with one another and missed their chance to have gone and said goodbye. 

Eventually, they ended up getting up out of the bed but spent the rest of their morning holding very tightly onto each other. After Steven’s conversation with Greg and Connie there to have apologised for the things that she had said, all felt good. Connie was glad to have heard an apology from Steven and had enough time to spill her guts on the matter. She needed to say sorry to him more than anything and was happy that she had the opportunity to do so. 

They were quick to have joined the rest of the band and Max for a quick breakfast. They had to leave rather soon due to the signing in the next city, meaning that they had to board a plane and head out. 

“Did you two fuck and make up?” Max spoke bluntly as they lined up at the terminal. 

“It was...we’re fine. It’s fine.” Connie assured as she held onto Steven’s hand a little tighter. The coming days would have been signing after signing. 

“So, now that you guys are back in action and together - we’re going to that Philip Butler party, right?” Max suddenly questioned, taking them both by surprise. Steven had nearly forgotten that they had been invited to the prestigious event. 

“Uhhh, what do you think?” Steven asked Connie as they stood in line together, ready to board the plane. 

“Guys, come on! We can wear super fancy outfits and we can have a great time! I’ll be able to build a load of contacts and there will be a bunch of famous people there, most of which won’t have a clue who either of you are so you won’t make absolute tits of yourselves if you trip over or some shit.” Max shrugged, trying her hardest to get them to go to the party. It wouldn’t have quite been anything like the L.A. party that they had attended on the first tour, but it would have been similar.

“I don’t know…” Steven gritted his teeth together, worried that they may have been dragged into something that was going to have been a bad time. 

“It would be nice to dress up…” Connie pondered on the thought. If they did dress up, it would have been the last time that she would have had the opportunity before she was heavily pregnant. 

“You want to go?” Steven cocked an eyebrow at Connie, surprised that she would have accepted the offer to have gone to the party. 

“Well, it sounds like Max is going to enjoy it. Plus, it’s not like a rager - this is a bunch of rich people in suits drinking champagne and dancing to an orchestra. It’s like something that my parents would attend.” Connie rolled her eyes at the thought. 

“I will enjoy it.” Max confirmed. 

“Your parents? Wouldn’t you hate it?”

“At the very least, we could go just to people watch. That’s going to be the funniest part about the evening.” Max laughed, thinking about how she was going to watch all of the rich famous people act like idiots in front of her. That was right before she handed them a business card and offered her promotional services whilst boosting Greg’s name. 

“We could just ignore everyone else and have a nice evening. It’s...free?” Connie chuckled at the thought, if Steven had relayed the information back to her correctly - Philip had mentioned it just being a nice night out if they wanted. 

“There’s probably free booze. What’s not to love?” Max pouted at the thought, attempting to tempt Steven into going. 

“Well, if you guys are sure...it does sound like a lot of fun.” Steven nodded. 

“Sorted. Cool. Well, we’ll have to find some fancy clothes at some point. Need a new  _ fit _ .” Max shot both finger guns at Steven and then again at Connie. It was good to know that she would have been able to promote her business at the event. Gaining contacts in the industry would have been the most important part about going. That and the free booze, of course. 

“We’ll make a day out of it!” Connie commented, excited to have been able to go out shopping with her two best friends. It was something that she always enjoyed doing. 

“Great!” Max grinned, annoyed that within a couple of moments she would have to board the plane. 

The rest of the day was spent thinking ahead into the future and what they would have done when they were at the party. As much as it wasn’t something that Connie would have considered her usual scene, it would have been nice to have gone. Even if it was simply nothing more than an evening spent out with Steven. That was important to her too. 

Flying over to Minneapolis meant that they landed early afternoon, only to have quickly gotten to the signing and made use of all of the permanent markers that Max had brought to the event. 

People continued to ask Connie about the book that she had written, a lot more of them coming up to the table and asking her further questions now that there had been people who had read it. 

A lot of things ran through Steven’s mind that day as he sat next to Connie at the signing table. He was pleased that Connie had been quick to apologise for her mistakes, although that didn’t stop a sour feeling inside of him about the whole situation. He hated the fact that all of those things about him were inside of the book. 

The same book that he watched the people pass over to her on the table. All of that private information shared about him when he had spent a lot of his adult life keeping all of those things under wraps. It was the band that he had and not a lot else. It was important to him that they were the only connections that he had. 

Until he met Connie. Then it didn’t seem to have mattered much. It was just important to him that he kept some kind of privacy inside of his life. He wasn’t quite sure how to have done that anymore now that his life was the way that it was. It felt impossible. It was just the life that he was destined to lead regardless of how much he tried to fight it. There was no escape. 

Although, Steven loved Connie very much and he would have done anything to make sure that she was happy. That even meant sacrificing all of that to make sure that she could publish her book. If it was important to her, then he would have made sure that it was also important to him. 

Steven sighed deeply as he sat at the table throughout the signing. There was still so much of the tour left and all he wanted to do was make sure that by the end of it he could have proposed to the love of his life. Was that so much to ask? 

They had finally made up with one another, despite it going against the rules that he had set inside of his mind about the proposal, with them being in Chicago the next day he would have tried to make something special. It was something, to say the least. As if all of his failed attempts in the past hadn’t meant anything. He was going to try. 

That was all he really could do. 

He was going to  _ try _ and propose in Chicago. 

He wanted to be with Connie for the rest of his life and he wanted to make sure that she wanted the same thing. 


	12. Chicago, IL

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie continues to find out what it's like to be in the spotlight. Max and Steven have a heart-to-heart.

Chicago was the city that they had their first-ever date. It only made sense that he would propose in that state - right? At least, that’s what he was thinking when he held the ring inside of his pocket, his other hand holding hers as they walked together. The location was so familiar, a part of him wondering if it was the same place that they had walked previously. 

He didn’t want to be reminded of the cafe that they had been in when they were forcefully disturbed by the fan that didn’t seem to understand personal boundaries. Just another thing that was there to have upset him. 

Perhaps it wasn’t that great of a memory? Especially considering how hurt he had felt after what had happened between him, the fan and Connie. She never deserved that. Although, Connie had been subjected to that quite a few times since. It never got any better. 

As much as he wanted to get down on one knee and propose to her, with a baby on the way it felt as if she would have thought he was doing it to keep up with traditions. As if he needed to marry her as a way of cementing their relationship. 

If he was going to be a dad, he wanted her to know that he was committed to the cause. There was no way that he was going to back out of such a thing now that it was happening. He was going to be there for her and the baby no matter what. 

“I feel like we’ve been here before.” Steven pondered as he spoke his thoughts. 

“I think we came past here on our first date, remember?” Connie tried to nudge the memories within him without digging too deeply and bringing out the side of Chicago that had upset him a lot that day. 

However, if it wasn’t for the time that they had in Chicago together they wouldn’t have fallen asleep inside of the back of the van only to have woken up and spent an amazing morning with one another. It certainly didn’t help that the band had discovered their little secret that same day. 

“I can’t believe you two fucked before your first date.” Max sighed, by this point, she had become completely fed up of listening to the couple’s everyday life. 

“You’re saying that as if you  _ date  _ people.” Connie rolled her eyes. 

“Look, it’s fine in my case. There’s no date at all. Easy!” Max shrugged, showing off her fantastic aromanticism. 

“You’re not afraid of being alone?” Steven suddenly questioned, taking both Connie and Max by surprise. It was quite the loaded question, but one that Steven had been thinking about a lot lately. 

He twisted the ring inside of his pocket as he looked over at Max awaiting an answer. If he was going to have been spending the rest of his life with Connie he wondered what it was like for people like Max. 

“I have people. Besides, we die alone anyway - so, what’s the point?” Max huffed, knowing that her opinion wasn’t shared amongst the crowd. It was going to have been hard for Max being on her own when people like Steven and Connie would have hopefully been together forever. 

The idea seemed to have bothered Steven more than it had ever bothered Max. He wanted to do everything he could to make sure that Max was involved where possible. He wanted her to have been a part of their lives. 

It would have been nice for Max to have been there when Steven got down on one knee and did the proposal. That way he knew that the moment would have been captured forever. There was no way that Max would have been able to resist pulling out her phone and snapping a few pictures of the couple. It would have been too adorable to have missed out on. 

Although, as much as Steven wanted to do it - he couldn’t help but feel as if every attempt that he had made had turned out to be a complete failure. There was no way that he was going to have been able to finally propose when the only thing on his mind was him trying to make it as good as possible. 

There was an opportunity for him to have proposed to Connie when they were in Beach City, but he wasn’t sure whether or not that would have been strange. Especially if they had to tell her parents about it straight after. It was an internal debate whether or not that would have been a good idea. Internally voting, he believed that it wouldn’t have been as good as he had made it out to have been inside of his mind. 

On the other hand, it was looking as if being in Chicago was the last place along their journey that he had to propose. A place that had a lot of significance between the two of them. Something that meant a lot to their relationship. 

He just wished he had the guts to have proposed in Austin despite the poor timing of the phone call that had plagued them at that moment. It would have been perfect. Except, it wasn’t. 

“You have us!” Steven stated happily, knowing that Max would always have been a part of their life. He was okay with that, Connie’s best friend was quick to have made quite the impression on him despite her awkward behaviours. 

“We’ll see how long it takes for you to drop that statement after the baby is born.” Max laughed, knowing that with a baby on the way it was likely that they would have been completely caught up in them being parents to have hung out with someone like Max. Besides, Max was always looking to have furthered her career. She was hoping that she would have been a lot busier over the coming years. 

“Never! The baby needs their kick-ass aunt!” Connie chuckled as she nudged her fist into Max’s arm. 

“Oh, yeah! I can do that. I’m pretty good at gift-giving. I’m talking about the novelty baby grow-things? Heck yeah! That kid is going to have so many funny t-shirts.” Max clenched her fists together as she thought about the possibilities. There was so much she could have done with the baby! 

She was going to have brought Connie a hilarious maternity t-shirt. There was no stopping her now that the thought had crossed her mind. 

“Can I get matching t-shirts? Those are really cute!” Steven suddenly thought about all of the possibilities they could come up with in regards to making sure that they matched the baby. It would have been adorable to have matching outfits with his son or daughter.

“As long as they’re music related then I’ll buy all of them for you, bro.” Max stated, pointing at Steven as they all walked together down the street. 

“Deal. I’m okay with that.” Steven nodded rapidly, the idea was one of the cutest things that he had ever heard and was incredibly excited to have participated in the novelty. 

Connie shook her head with a smile, she knew that whatever it was that they were planning inside of their minds would have been adorable. Any thought that Connie had been having about Steven and the baby had always been so wholesome and cute. She knew that he would have been a fantastic dad no matter what happened. He was going to have put his heart out on the line for the baby if he needed to. 

Their child was going to have been his everything.

Connie knew that he was going to love the baby more than he loved her. She was okay with that. She wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

Although, it felt as if since she had revealed that she was pregnant, the only thing that they could have possibly thought and talked about was the baby. Something that she knew was going to happen but wasn’t quite prepared for how often they truly did speak about it. 

She knew that it was an exciting thing that was happening, but that didn’t mean it didn’t make her feel uncomfortable about being the centre of attention every couple of minutes. Once again, they continued to have suffocated her with the love that she deserved. As much as it wasn’t a bad thing - Connie couldn’t help but feel as if she was drowning in their care. 

Being in Chicago was slightly different as they weren’t attending a bookstore as they had been a lot of the times that they had visited all of the different cities. This time, Connie was heading to go and complete an interview for a magazine and webpage that she was going to have been a part of. This included a small photoshoot. 

Connie knew that she was somewhat nervous about what was going to happen, even more nervous that she would have somehow vomited on Steven’s shoes as she had done so before. Although, she was sure that she was going to have steered clear of his shoes at all cost. 

It also helped that Max carried a small bag around in her back pocket at all times now. Connie had noticed and she knew that it was Max’s way of caring. If she needed to vomit, the best place to go was Max. She was going to have been there for her to hand her whatever she needed. 

Connie couldn’t see it, but Max was also always carrying a couple of sticks of gum around for the same reason. 

“It’s going to be fine!” Max insisted as they all stood outside of the large building on a street in Chicago. As much as her friends attempting to boost her confidence usually helped, it wasn’t doing quite so well at that time. 

“What if this one goes just like the one with Philip Butler?” Connie furrowed her eyebrows, this time a little more nervous about the interview than she had been before. It was likely at this point she was going to have thrown up because of her nerves and not because she was pregnant.

“The interview with Philip didn’t go badly!” Steven tried his hardest to reassure her. 

“Nope! It was just Steven’s Vans that got the wrong end of the deal.” Max laughed, immediately regretting her joke as she noticed that it was in poor taste amongst everyone. 

“We’re going to be with you the whole way! Probably sitting next to you if you want!” Steven laughed, reaching out his hand to touch Connie in some way. As long as she knew that there was some kind of connection between the two of them, he was hoping that she would have felt more comfortable. 

Connie was guilty in thinking that she was a little reluctant for Steven to have tagged along to the interview thinking that there was a possibility that he could have been the one to have been pulled aside to be interviewed. That wasn’t something that Connie wanted to happen - selfishly so. 

“I’m probably a little more worried about the photoshoot for the magazine.” Connie tucked her hair behind her ear shyly. It was a partial lie. Of course, she was nervous about the photo shoot, but she couldn’t help but feel as if the asking of the questions was going to have felt a lot worse. There was so much that could have gone wrong. 

At least with this interview it was written content, so if it needed to have been edited it could have. Although, that was just something that she wished to have happened if things didn’t go quite the way that she wanted them to. If she did vomit, they wouldn’t have to edit all of the interview together to fix that. 

“Why? You’re beautiful!” Steven spoke his usual words. 

“Also, you’re going to look like the most kickass author there has ever been! I’ve seen the kind of shoots that this magazine does. You’re going to look like a goddamn model! One of the super-hot ones!” Max threw her hands out in front of her and grinned, excited to have seen how the pictures would have turned out. Her best friend was incredibly pretty and she was sure that the magazine would have done her justice. 

"A model? I don't think so." Connie laughed, it would have been nice for someone to have taken some nice photos of her. She had ones that both Steven and Max had taken of her when they were together, but she wasn't particularly one to take photos of herself. She imagined her parents were probably a little disappointed with the lack of photographs of their daughter they had in recent years. 

“Shut up, Connie! You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen!” Max nudged Connie slightly in the shoulder, forcing her to step away slightly. Connie couldn’t help but chuckle and blush at the compliment. It was something that she had very little confidence in and yet it was something that she was practically forcing herself to do. 

She very much appreciated her friend’s effort into trying to make sure that she had enough confidence to go to the photoshoot. It was going to be weird to have appeared inside of a magazine. That wasn’t something she had expected from herself. 

“I can agree with Max!” Steven grinned, happy to have tagged along with the comments. He very much disliked when Connie spoke down on herself. Connie truly was beautiful and anyone that thought otherwise was wrong. 

The problem being the only one who truly thought that was herself. She was the one in the wrong. In an endless spiralling pit of low self-esteem that she never would have been able to escape from. 

Although, over the years she had gotten a little more confident with herself and her body. Steven had certainly helped in that respect. The ways that he refused to stop complimenting her and making her feel like the most beautiful person on the planet. She was beginning to believe it - not always though. 

“Connie Maheswaran?” A woman sat at a desk questioned as Connie, Max and Steven all approached. They had spent a short amount of time navigating themselves through the large building that looked a little too fancy for them. 

“That’s me.” Connie pointed to her chest using her thumb, as much as she hated to announce herself when she entered the room - this was what was being required of her. The shoot and interview were going to have gone just as poorly if that was the case. She was already embarrassed. 

“Alright. Seems your appointment with Victoria will be in a few moments. She's going to take you through and interview you for the magazine and then we’ll get straight to the shoot.” The woman at the desk explained as she typed something incredibly fast on her computer. 

Max watched as the woman on the opposite side of the desk pulled some lanyards and ID cards from out under where she was sitting. She placed them in front of the group that had just entered, gesturing for them to each take one. 

Max was the first one to pick up the lanyard and passed the rest of them to the couple. 

“So, these are VIP badges - right?” Max suddenly questioned as she pointed to the card that was now hanging from her neck from a plastic holder. 

The woman looked up at her and shook her head. 

“No. They’re just ID badges so that we can see who is in the building. You’re visitors.” 

“So, no access to free food or drink?” Max placed both of her elbows on the large desk, looking down at where the woman was sat. 

“Well, there are refreshments in the other room where you will be seated for the interview. I could also bring you some coffee if you would like some…” The woman gave Max a look of confusion. It looked as if she had enough of uptight people coming into the reception and acting as if they owned the place. 

The group immediately got the vibe that although she had offered the coffee, it wasn’t something that she would have been happy going to get.

“Thank you for your services today.” Max nodded, pouting her lip as she thought about what she had meant by refreshments. If there was only water in the other room she would have been very disappointed. 

The three of them sat down together inside the waiting room of the magazine company. They looked a little out of place amongst all of the workers inside of the building, most of which were young people with bizarre haircuts and fancy clothing. A lot of the walls inside of the building weren’t quite walls at all, mostly windows that allowed everyone to see into the various offices as they waited. 

Not only that, but the seats that they had all taken were just...beanbags. Max held her arms out either side of her as she stared at the ceiling and thought about what it would have felt like to work in such a millennial building. Was this Boogle? 

“I bet they let you smoke weed on the job here.” Max mumbled, thinking about all of the things she had seen on their way to the waiting area. It was certainly a different building - that was for sure. 

“Greg lets you smoke on the job.” Connie groaned, in a way she was happy that Max was bringing up a different topic. Max was good at making sure that she could keep her mind off things. 

“He does?” Steven looked over at Connie, a little bit shocked at the thought. 

“He doesn’t let me in the  _ building _ !” Max countered, not wanting it to seem as if she spent all of her time at work high. 

“That’s beside the point.” 

“That  _ is _ the point.” 

“Dad lets you smoke weed at work?” Steven squinted, wanting to press further into questioning. He had never let Steven do that! Well, he had never asked. 

“You smoke weed at work all the time.” Connie rolled her eyes. 

“That’s different, that’s with the band at shows!” Steven shrugged, trying to prove his point. Whatever that was. 

“So...your job?” Connie cocked an eyebrow. 

“Oh, right.” 

“And my job is to spend eternity speaking to sweaty alternative rock bands. I have to be high else you physically can’t communicate with them. Greg  _ gets  _ it.” Max nodded, continuing to stare at the ceiling as she made herself comfortable on the beanbag. 

Steven shuffled about, not getting as comfortable as he needed to on the seat. Why couldn’t they have just had normal chairs? It was very inaccessible. 

“I see…” Steven sunk in the beanbag, feeling as if he was never going to have been able to sit up ever again. 

The group kept looking over at the receptionist to see if there was going to have been any other instance where they would have called them through for the interview and photoshoot. 

Connie threaded her fingers together as she continued to think about what the newfound experience would have been like. Her parents continuously asked for pictures of her to make sure that she was doing okay, but they continued to say that they didn’t have any ‘nice’ photographs of her. Admittedly, she was a little offended by their comments - but in a way, she knew what they were referring to. 

They wanted images like she would have gotten done for her yearbook in high school - not the odd pictures that she and Steven had taken together. Especially not the ones that they took together whilst hanging out in bed half-clothed. None of them were remotely inappropriate, but if they included Steven that would have put Connie in the wrong regardless of the rest of the image. 

“Connie Maheswaran? We’re ready for your photoshoot now.” A woman in high heels and glasses stepped over to the small area that was surrounded by beanbags and a colourful rug. Max and Steven were more than happy that they were able to escape from what felt like hell. 

Connie stood up and both Max and Steven followed. 

Connie was quickly informed that the photo shoot would have been one that she would complete an interview and then have her photos taken. 

“We’re very interested in your story, Connie. Everyone at the office has taken it and ran!” The bubbly woman chuckled as she held her hand out in front of her. She was wearing a white turtleneck and her brunette hair was up in a bun. “Well, nobody is running in here - health and safety!” The lady chuckled a little harder than anyone else in the room. 

Connie sat in front of the interviewer as Max and Steven sat at the end of the table exchanging glances. It would have been hard for them not to have giggled to themselves throughout the interview. If that was the case they would have to leave the room. 

“Yes, health and safety is very important.” Connie confirmed, swallowing hard as the words came out of her mouth. She suddenly thought that she sounded like her mother and hated it. She would have never spoken words like it ever again. 

“Right, so we’ll go through the interview and then get your cute pictures taken! I love that sweater you’re wearing. Oh, my name is Kim by the way. It’s short for Kimberley.” Kimberley shrugged as she tapped her pen against the clipboard that she had the interview set out on. 

“Thanks.” Connie smiled as she pulled on the blue sweater that she was wearing, a lot smarter than when she would have usually lazily thrown on a Star Destroyers hoodie. 

“Whilst reading through your book, we couldn’t help but notice how well you go through the clear representation of women. It’s not your traditional love story and it certainly isn’t one of those things where you find out that the wife was actually after money this whole time!” Kimberley laughed, covering her mouth away from Steven before speaking again. “I’ve seen his figures on the internet. Are you sure it wasn’t for the money?" She joked. 

“N-no! It has nothing to do with money!” Connie furrowed her eyebrows, slightly angry at the suggestion. 

“This is exactly what I mean! I can see that you’re telling the truth from the novel that I read. You love Steven beyond anything else and that’s just...adorable! I was constantly rooting for you both throughout the entire thing. The thing that I found most interesting about it was the way that you portray yourself. I love the way that you showed yourself as this vulnerable person the whole time - would you say that’s true?” Kimberley pressed, continuing to speak at Connie rather than involve her in a conversation. 

When Connie had agreed to interview with a feminist magazine - this wasn’t exactly what she had expected for a start. She had at least expected for them to have chairs for their clients in the waiting room - that was a crime in itself. 

Although, she wanted to have spoken to someone that was going to have taken her book seriously. She wanted a serious interview that didn’t include her being sick on Steven’s shoes. If that happened a second time she would have wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground and disappear more so than usual. 

It was only a matter of time before she bought herself a shovel. 

Connie continued to answer the questions that didn't quite fill her with the joy that she had hoped doing another interview would have included. Being in a magazine would have been incredibly cool, but the way things were going she couldn’t help but feel as if it was going to have been a disaster. Only time would have been able to tell what came out of the interview. 

Max and Steven sat quietly in the corner texting one another despite being sat next to each other. This way they would have been able to speak to each other, but they weren’t disturbing the interview. At least in this room, they had actual chairs that you could have sat on without the posture of a banana. 

The questions that Connie had been asked throughout the interview were ones that she didn’t quite feel should have been put inside of the magazine. Ones that she would have to look over at the end of the interview and see if they were appropriate to have been published. 

At least the questions she was asked when she was with Philip Butler had felt a lot more professional. They were questions that she thought were good for readership, whereas the lady from the feminist magazine had only just questioned her on her favourite food. 

A double-page spread on the new author, Connie Maheswaran. Half of it was going to have been filled with funny little facts about her that made her seem a little more quirky than people would have first expected. It would have also been followed by a bunch of cheesy answers that Connie had given her when she was asked things such as ‘dream honeymoon location’ when she was asking questions about their relationship.

Steven mentally took note of some of her answers, knowing that eventually, he would have to use that knowledge to his advantage. He mostly knew all of the answers already though and that had made him feel even better about it all. Although, the one thing on his mind was still running through - making sure that he couldn’t quite think of anything else. 

Connie sat on the small black box and faced the camera that was being pointed at her, attempting to get the best angle. Connie knew that she could have changed her outfits if she so desired, but the outfit she had chosen was just fine for the occasion. 

She allowed the photographer to get as many shots as they needed. They would have edited a bunch of them and corrected them anyway. Despite them powdering her in makeup before she had taken a step in front of the white background. 

Steven stood to the side of the shoot with his hands in his pockets, occasionally taking them out to give her a solid thumbs up for reassurance. He couldn’t believe how beautiful she was, something that he had thought time and time again. 

He loved her so much. There was nothing that he wanted to have done more than to have gotten on one knee then and there and told her exactly that. He was going to be having a child with the most beautiful woman in the entire world. He couldn’t wait to see how adorable their baby was - hoping that they would have mostly taken her looks. 

Connie made sure to adjust her posture as the pictures were being taken, wanting to feel as confident as she possibly could. She had never been overly flattered by images of herself. She felt...disgusting. 

It was hard to convince herself that she was beautiful when she struggled to believe it herself - even if Steven told her every single day that she shouldn’t have paid attention to her mind and that he was the right one. She was beautiful and she needed to believe it! 

Body confidence was never her strong point and she didn’t think it ever would be, even if they had made her look more beautiful than usual. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to have completely judged the images of herself as soon as she flipped the page. 

“You looked amazing!” 

“Yeah, Con - I can’t wait to make one of them my wallpaper on my phone!” Max snorted, trying to make light of the situation. It seemed as if her best friend wasn’t in the best mindset when she had left the photoshoot and interview. The interview certainly didn’t seem the same as they had expected. 

“Please - don’t.” Connie rubbed both of her eyes. They would have been some of the last images that she would have of herself before she got further into her pregnancy and wouldn’t have been able to make it up sets of stairs. She was suddenly thankful that their house only had steps up to the front door and nowhere else. 

“That interview lady was a little loopy though. Damn, I’m all for the feminist movement and whatever - but that place was  _ weird _ .” Max shook her head with a shudder. 

“It wasn’t what I had expected.” 

“I had no idea what I was expecting - but I don’t think it was that.” Steven pointed back towards the building, making sure to thread his other hand between Connie’s. She took a deep breath at the touch, wanting to feel closer towards him as usual. 

There wouldn’t have been a moment where she would have received any kind of piece when she was pregnant. Steven was going to have been there every waking second of the day. There was no way of getting out of any of his love. He was desperate to be with her as much as possible. 

He wanted to take her through the streets of Chicago and do the same things that they had done there once more. Something that he thought she would have liked. Something like Austin. 

It could have been the perfect place for him to have proposed…

He wasn’t sure. Connie’s mood didn’t exactly seem the best and that would have been the defining factor of the whole thing. Understanding and knowing whether or not she was going to be okay if he were to have popped the question out of nowhere. 

It wouldn’t have been a very smart thing to have done at that moment. Especially when the only thing on her mind was how all of the interviews she had been to on the book tour had ended in disaster. 

Well, the most recent interview hadn’t been what she would have considered  _ bad _ , but it certainly wasn’t what she was expected. It hadn’t gone as well as she had hoped. She just wanted a normal interview where everything went well! 

The little sessions that she had at signings where people would ask her questions were the closest thing that she was going to have gotten to the thing that she wanted. The only way she would have been asked somewhat sensible questions that she wanted to have answered. 

Sure, there were a lot of people at the signings that had come for Steven, but it felt as if they were starting to learn that they should just have read the book before they started coming in and questioning everything on her relationship. Most of the things that they asked were inside of the book, other than the odd one that included the idea of marriage or whether or not they would have ever had kids together. 

Both of which had different reactions from both Steven and Connie whenever they were asked. 

They most certainly weren’t going to have been telling anyone about the baby that could have done some kind of news outlet. They weren’t sure how many people would have been interested in the story, but it may have been enough for them to suddenly have been bothered. That wasn’t what they wanted. 

They made their way back to the hotel room, Steven continuing to give her as much love as he could manage. If he wasn’t going to have been able to propose to her then he was going to have shown how much he loved her in different ways. 

“How are you feeling?” Steven questioned as he sat with his jacket still on as Connie climbed into the bed. She wanted to do nothing more than to sleep. 

“Pregnant.” Connie groaned, once again feeling incredibly nauseous. 

Even though she had figured out that the vomiting wasn’t due to the stress, she couldn’t help but believe that a part of it was still coming from that place. Everywhere and everything that she had done had still been incredibly stress-inducing and she knew that there was no way those nerves would have been able to have gone away instantly. 

“Oh. Is there...anything I can do?” Steven chewed on his bottom lip, reaching over the bed so that he could be closer to her. He placed his hand on the covers beside her. 

“Don’t make me pregnant next time?” Connie chuckled, hoping that her comment didn’t come across too rude. 

“Uhh...I  _ promise _ ?” Steven sweated slightly. It was a huge error on his part - one that had never happened before even with the number of people that he had slept with in the past. He had always been careful! This was just...he should have known better. 

“It’s...okay.” Connie sighed, it wasn’t completely Steven’s fault and she knew that the baby was something that she wanted. 

Steven could sense that there was something off. 

“Do you need some time on your own? Or do you want me to stay here with you?” Steven questioned politely.

“Where were you thinking of going?” Connie was a little confused. Unsure where he could have possibly gone in Chicago alone. 

“Well...I was thinking of hanging with Max for a bit.”

“You mean you want to smoke?”

“I’m not going to do it if you don’t want me to do it. I won’t do it when the baby is here. I’ll quit completely. It won’t even be a social thi-” Steven began to ramble, his expression showing nothing but guilt and desperation. 

“Steven!”

“Yeah?”

“You know I don’t mind.” Connie tilted her head with a slight smile. When she had first met him all he ever did was smoke weed, although, as time processed he found better ways of coping with the way that he felt that didn’t include recreational drug use. 

“Right.” Steven smiled, feeling a little awkward about it all. He would have loved to have smoked with Max - he hadn’t done in a while and boy did he need it after the week he had been having. There was so much that had gone on throughout the week. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”

“Go. It would be nice to...be alone for a while.” Connie smiled, trying to make sure that Steven wasn’t offended by her suggestion. She knew deep down that he completely knew what it was that she was after. Time alone wasn’t always a bad thing. 

“I understand. I won’t be...long.” Steven smiled as he shuffled over and placed his hand into her lap, allowing her to place her hands on top of his. 

“I know.” Connie confirmed by leaning forward and planting a sweet kiss on his lips. He grinned against her skin, happy that they had both concluded what they wanted to do. 

Steven didn’t particularly  _ want _ to leave her on her own, but he knew that sometimes everyone needs their space. Connie had also been through a lot over the past week and it wasn’t surprising that she needed her own time to gather her thoughts. Steven could admit that he had been relatively smothering, feeling slightly terrible at the thought of being overwhelming for her. 

“Make sure Max doesn’t get into any trouble.” Connie requested, a seriousness in her tone. 

“Don’t worry - I’ll make sure she behaves.” Steven chuckled, happy that she was completely fine with him going out for a smoke with Max. 

At the table in the interview, Max had suggested over text that they spent some time together once they got back to the hotel. It would have given Connie some breathing room and Steven knew she would have been appreciative of it. 

Connie was quick to have said goodbye to Steven. The sooner that he left the sooner she could have internally continued to complain about how sick she felt. 

Steven had been so sweet to her all day. Suffocatingly so. Enough to make Connie want to be alone for a few moments so that she could find a way to compose herself. Although, locking herself in the hotel bathroom wasn’t quite what she had expected when she had asked to go back to the room alone. 

Allowing Steven to spend some time with Max was the best way to have gotten them both out of her hair for a moment. It was hard for her to gather her thoughts when she was around them all day and night. As much as she had a mass amount of love in her heart for both of them, it was nice for her to have spent some time on her own. 

She knew that once she became a mother that there would be no way of her being able to go back on that decision. She was going to have been a mother forever after that point. Everything would have changed. 

Connie didn’t last long in the bed before she made her way into the bathroom, feeling far too ill to do much else. It wouldn’t have been a relaxing evening. 

Connie dropped to her knees inside of the hotel bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Of course, this was something that she could have never gotten used to - despite the number of times that it had been happening to her lately. As soon as she got back from the tour she was going to have to go and see a doctor about her morning sickness and the baby. 

Although, it wasn’t morning sickness in the slightest. It was just sickness. All of the time. 

She knew that Steven was concerned and as much as she didn’t want him to - he had been spending a lot of the time checking the internet to make sure that she was okay. It was stupid to check the internet for symptoms when it was likely that it would have only provided you with things that you really wouldn’t have wanted to hear anyway. 

Even though Connie found the results that Steven had found on the internet in the past incredibly terrifying, she had also found some kind of comfort knowing that morning sickness was something that happened throughout the day. 

She found herself falling back into a seated position as she shuffled backwards so that she was against the wall. There was something that she felt about all that was going on around her and nothing about it seemed to have been good. 

Of course she wanted to be a mother! She had always thought about it a lot when she was younger and now that it had come about so suddenly it wasn’t exactly how she had planned within her mind. She had expected to have at least gotten a book tour off the ground and sorted out all of the steps of her plan before she decided on having kids. 

She wanted to have kids with Steven! 

One day. She wasn’t sure if that day was now...but now that it was happening - she was going to have to change all of her plans to work out the best route. 

Connie was no stranger to having to change her plans. After college, she had found it incredibly hard to find out where she wanted to be. Although, perhaps the idea of changing plans was a tough one considering she didn’t quite have any plans to change in the first place. 

Max knew where she was coming from when it came to changing plans. Except, Connie wasn’t like Max. Max had come to that conclusion after a long time debating it, but Connie liked to make five-year plans for herself. After moving out with Steven, she had made another one that had revolved around them being together.

Having kids didn’t even come into the equation until she had reached her late twenties. There was so much that she still wanted to do. Things that she wanted to see and experience. Things that she didn’t think that she would be able to experience if she was a mother. There wasn’t anything there for her. Nothing that she could do that would make things better or different. 

This wasn’t the plan that Connie had mapped out within her mind. It wasn’t the one that she was sure that she wanted to take, but she had very little choice in the matter. 

It wasn’t as if she was going to want to ever consider the option of getting rid of the baby now that they knew about it. Doing something like that would break Steven’s heart, even if they had all of the conversations surrounding it. It would be an unfair decision for him to help her decide, ultimately - it would have been her decision and that could have been the thing that would crush Steven. 

He wouldn’t have wanted for Connie to have been unhappy, no matter how much that would have crushed him as a person. He would have picked the option that she wanted. 

But that wasn’t what she wanted! Connie didn’t know what she wanted! 

She slowly brought her knees up to her chest and made sure to cover her eyes, looking down as she sobbed heavily. Was it possible for the hormones to be kicking her ass already? They were already making her incredibly sick, she only imagined that they would have been the thing to have surged on the urge for her to have cried her eyes out as she sat alone in the bathroom. 

It would have been nice to have Steven or Max there to comfort her, although at that moment all she wanted was to have been alone with her thoughts. 

Usually being alone would have been scary and in this case, it was incredibly scary. Connie knew that in reality, she wasn’t alone. She had a lovely amount of people around her that would have done anything for her and now...the baby. 

The baby that she still wasn’t sure how to feel about. Max had mentioned something about it still being the size of a piece of popcorn, which at the time had made Connie think about the growth of a baby and how something so small would have eventually become something and someone that would have an amazing impact in her life. 

She was going to be a mom and Steven was going to be a dad. There was nothing sad about either of them things, she didn’t doubt that either of them would have been good parents! 

Connie wanted to do everything she could to wipe away her tears, get back up and curl into the bed that was inside of the hotel room. She wanted nothing more than to...go home. She missed being at home. 

It was fun being on tour, except it had been a lot different when it had been her being the one that was on tour and not Steven. It was strange for her to have been the focus of attention. It was also strange for her to have been travelling across all of the states and not being in the company of the rest of the band. Despite her never interacting with all of them as much as she had wished she had along all of the tours, she missed them. 

It wouldn’t have been long before they were all able to go back home and restore themselves to some kind of normality. However, that wouldn’t have been the case. It wouldn’t have been the case when Connie knew that as soon as they got back home things would have been more different than they were before. 

They were going to have been having a baby! That was the biggest change of them all. 

When Steven had mentioned something about commitments when they had both been back at home, she was hoping that when he mentioned something along the lines it was going to have been a pet - not a baby. 

Connie didn’t want to be upset when Steven came back into the room. As loving as he was, he was sometimes incredibly difficult to have dealt with when he was in a mood where he could have smothered her. As much as she loved his hugs and kisses, times like this she could have done with being touch starved. 

She allowed herself to cry for a little longer, getting it out when there was nobody else around was the best way for her to have dealt with the issues that she was facing. It was the best way for her to have let it all out without Steven and Max having some kind of concerning issue about the whole thing. They always had something to add and as much as she knew it was just because they cared deeply about her - she wanted to keep that alone time whenever she could. 

However, sitting in a skatepark not too far away from the hotel itself was Steven and Max. They both wanted to have spent a lot of time at the skatepark on their boards, but whilst being on planes they hadn’t brought them with them. 

Max had managed to score some weed from someone at the park which meant that the two friends were going to have spent the rest of their evening, or at least some of it, getting as high as they could. 

Steven knew that when it came to being a dad that he probably was going to try and lay off the amount of weed that he smoked. Admittedly, since he had met Connie he had managed to have stayed away from the substance for the vast majority of the time. Whenever he did smoke - it was casual and usually surrounded by the band. Smoking socially was a lot better than smoking alone at home. 

“Do you think that she’s okay?” Max questioned as she passed the joint over to Steven who was sitting beside her on the bench, looking out at the skatepark. It was late at night and the only thing that was illuminating the entire park was the streetlights that surrounded it. 

Steven took a drag of the joint, allowing himself to have been consumed by the relaxing feeling that flowed through his body. It was nice to have indulged in the activity after so long going without smoking anything. It was a past time that made him both incredibly sad and incredibly happy. 

“I think...she just needs to be on her own for a bit. I understand.” Steven shrugged. He was no stranger to wanting to be on his own. Before he met Connie he had made sure that he was on his own at the end of every single show. Sometimes it was nice to have not been the centre of attention for a while. 

That was probably how Connie was feeling. 

“I get that. It must be really hard for her. I don’t think I even want to think about the idea of ever being pregnant.” Max folded over her arms, half expecting for Steven to have passed the joint back. He selfishly kept it for a few more seconds so that he could hit it again. 

“Me neither.” 

“Good. That would be weird.” Max snorted as she finally got the joint back from him. “It seems really scary. That also doesn’t include the bit where it shoots straight out of you after like...ten hours?” 

“Does it really take that long?” Steven’s eyes widened. He thought that he had done plenty of research over the past couple of days. He was slowly starting to realise that no amount of research was ever going to have prepared him for what was to come in the future. Being a dad was going to have been hard. 

“Dude, you better get ready to have a broken hand. She’s going to squeeze that shit so hard!” Max laughed, feeling a little sorry for Steven. He was going to have been the one that was going to have been dragged into the delivery room when it did happen. 

That was something that no amount of television and movies could have ever prepared him for. The real-life experience was going to have been...intense. Max already knew that he was going to come out of it a changed man - in more ways than one. 

“Oh man...this whole dad thing is going to be hard.” Steven sighed as he watched Max staring at the end of the joint. She eventually took her eyes away from the burning and looked at Steven with sincerity in her eyes. 

“Shut up. You’re going to be a great dad!”

“Maybe...but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be hard.” 

“I don’t think it’s meant to be easy. My brothers and I put my dad through hell when we were kids and well...we do it when we’re adults too. Either way, he raised us on his  _ own _ . Well, for the most part. He raised me on his own, my brother's got to experience my deadbeat mom. Luckily, I didn't have to deal with that at all - she was already gone.” Max chuckled to herself. Her family situation had been brushed over a few times with Steven. 

In a way, they could both relate to one another on a personal level when it came to both being raised by their fathers. 

“Your dad is a superhero.” Steven shook his head, Richard Kayori was one hell of a man. Nobody would have been able to compete with the single dad who managed to raise four kids. 

“Well, I guess you learn to adapt when the woman you’ve been with for ten years decides to have an affair and leave you with all your kids. That’s so fucked up. I hope I never see that bitch, I don’t even know what she looks like. Probably an uglier version of me.” Max huffed before taking a drag from the joint and passing it back over. It was an incredibly rare instance for Max to have ever mentioned her mother. 

Things had been tough for the Kayori family throughout her life. Most of it she blamed on her mother, someone who she didn’t even know. Her older brothers, Carter and Ryan were the only ones who had fond memories of her. Dylan and Max wouldn’t have ever been able to pick apart any memories with her, they were both far too young when she had left. 

“I’m sorry, Max.” 

“It’s cool, my dad’s a champion in more than one way. Just remember that you’re in it for the long-run now and if you ever think of backing out I’ll hunt you down and bring you back.” Max snorted, pointing up at Steven before passing back the joint for him to enjoy. A simple back and forth that seemed to have been working rather well. 

“I would never do that!”

“I know you wouldn’t. You’re a good man, Steven.” Max smiled over at her friend, happy to know that out of all of the people that Connie could have run into the first night of the tour, she was happy that it was Steven. Max had been pretty shocked at the time considering that he was the frontman of her favourite band. Although, now she had learnt to love him like a brother. 

“Thanks, Max.” Steven stared out at the skatepark in front of him, watching a couple of skaters roll up the halfpipe before kickflipping back down. He wished that he could have joined them. “Speaking of sticking around...I’ve kind of been struggling with something.” Steven admitted, holding the joint in one hand as he used the other to touch the pocket of his denim jacket. 

“Got some math homework you need a hand with?” 

“N-no. It’s something...else…” Steven furrowed his eyebrows, a little bit embarrassed that he had been thinking about something for a long time and yet he had been far too scared to have followed through. There had never been the right moment. 

Max looked down at him touching the pocket that was by his chest. 

“What’s up?” 

Steven reached into his pocket and pulled out the small black box that he had been carrying around with him for far longer than he would have liked to have admitted. He was genuinely surprised that Connie was yet to have found it. Maybe she had? He had probably taken far too long in popping the question that it was no longer a surprise when he did. 

Max stared down at the box as he passed it over. Max immediately knew what it was going to be, but opened up the top to have a look inside regardless. She was pretty speechless on the matter at first, not wanting to bring anything up about what he was doing. 

“I’ve been carrying this with me for a while now. I want...I really want to propose to her. I want to be with her forever, I just don’t know how to say it.” Steven scratched the back of his neck, feeling incredibly awkward about it all. 

“You say it with this fuck-off shiny ring. How much did this  _ cost _ ?” Max furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly making Steven feel incredibly conscious about the decision he was planning to make. 

“Uh...I’ve been saving! It wasn't that much, I know she wouldn't want anything too fancy.” 

“Doesn’t most of your money go towards the house?” 

“Yeah, but I got it a couple of months ago when we did another merch run and we had a bunch of sales!” 

“I know how much each of you got from that. That’s not enough to buy...this. It’s so shiny! Woah!” Max couldn’t keep her eyes off the ring as she tilted it back and forth under the streetlight. 

“It doesn’t matter how much it cost. Do you think she’s going to like it?” Steven nervously attempted to smoke, a little bit concerned about hearing the answer. 

“Well...yeah, she’s going to love it.”

“But?"

“I didn’t say ‘but’.”

“You wanted to though.”

“Butt. Huh, you’re right - I did want to say it.” Max sniggered, passing the small box back to Steven and reaching over for the joint in the process. 

Steven sighed heavily as he allowed her to take it from his grasp. 

“I’ve tried to propose to her several times now!” Steven suddenly blurted out in frustration. Max cocked an eyebrow at his comment, nearly choking on the joint. 

“Several? What happened? Did she say no every time?” Max teased. 

“I...haven’t gotten to the point where I ask yet. It never seems...right. It has to be right!” Steven stressed as he clenched his fists together, feeling angrier and angrier with himself that he couldn’t seem to have gotten it right no matter how hard he tried. 

He had put the effort in every single time, but no matter how hard he tried to offer the opportunity for them to have been together forever there was nothing that played out how he wanted it to. 

Now that she was pregnant he was sure that if he tried to propose that he was only doing it because of the baby. That wasn’t the case! He wanted to be with her if she had the baby or not. 

“Dude, calm down. She’s going to say yes regardless of where you are. You could propose in a bathroom and she’d still say it was the most romantic thing she had ever witnessed.” Max sighed in response, wanting Steven to know how much Connie cared about him. He should have already known. 

“She deserves the best.” 

“She does, but in her eyes -  _ you’re  _ the best!” Max laughed, feeling incredibly cheesy that she had said the line. 

Steven sat for a moment thinking about the words.

“That doesn’t help. How am I supposed to propose?” 

“God. People in love are so  _ annoying _ !” Max pinched the bridge of her nose before continuing. “What I’m trying to say, Steve-O is that it doesn’t matter if the proposal is at the top of the Eiffel Tower or in a sewer with a Ninja Turtle - she’s there for  _ you _ ! It doesn’t have to be fancy, just pop the question!” Max shrugged, making Steven think a little too hard on the subject.

If Max was right in what she was talking about, then Steven would have wasted many months attempting to get the proposal just right. It was important to him that he could make it the best proposal possible, but from what Max was suggesting - that didn’t seem to have to be the case. Things would have gone well regardless of what he said. 

“Are you sure?” Steven continued to be sceptical on the subject. Being a romantic himself, it was hard to swing away from the idea that proposing wouldn’t have been one of the most important things in their relationship. 

It was going to have been something that they were both going to remember for the rest of their lives. He wanted to make sure that it was as special as possible! 

“I’m sure of it! I’m not just saying that either, she loves you so much that it’s sickening.” Max laughed, happy to have witnessed the couple growing with one another. She had watched them through their good days and their bad days and every single time she was always happy to see how well they bounced off one another. 

The happiness that they brought one another was unlike anything that she had seen before. Weirdly, she was somewhat jealous that she would never experience something like that herself. Although, the more she thought about it the happier she was to just tag along and be an observer of other people’s relationships. It was never something she was interested in and she probably wasn’t ever going to be interested in it either. 

Steven stared down at the ring as he had done time and time again. What could have possibly have gone wrong if Connie said no? They would break up forever? Was that the thing that was running through his mind? 

They had spoken about their future a lot in the past. Their future usually included kids that Steven would comedically name and a wedding with a sponge cake, but they were only little fantasies that they had with one another as they stayed up laying on their bed and staring at the ceiling. 

“Do you ever just feel like you’re not good enough?” Steven furrowed his eyebrows as he ran his thumb against the top of the ring that was positioned inside of the box. There was no way that he couldn’t feel that way when he had spent so long fighting an endless battle with her parents and his mind. 

“All the time.” 

“But you’re so-”

“So what?”

“I don’t know.” Steven shrugged with a pause, worried that anything he may have said would have come out completely wrong from what he truly meant. “I just think that you’re more than good enough, you’re awesome!” 

“Nice save, I appreciate it.” Max chuckled, knowing exactly where Steven was coming from. Max always seemed to have been the one that had everything together, but that never seemed to have been the case. Things were tough. 

Steven sighed deeply as he closed the top of the box and placed it back inside of his pocket, hiding it once more as he buried away from the part of his life that he wished he was strong enough to go through with. He hoped that things would have been different soon. 

Max took another long drag of the joint before passing it over to Steven, he quickly copied her actions attempting to use the weed to mask whatever thoughts he was currently having about himself. It was nice to practically melt into the bench that they were both sitting on. 

“Are you going to finish this?” Steven lifted the joint and offered it to Max. 

“Nah, dude - you take it. I’m done for the night.” Max waved her hand out in front of her, denying the offer. 

Steven was happy to have finished the rest of the joint with ease. So he did. 

Before either of them could get anymore stoned on the bench, the both of them headed back to the hotel to call it a night. Max made her way back to her room and waved goodnight to Steven as he walked down the corridor to the room he was sharing with Connie. 

He was glad that he had allowed Connie to have been with herself for a while. Sometimes it was terrible to have been on your own, but other times - it was just what you need. Steven appreciated his time spent alone, as much as he wanted to spend time with Connie. 

Regardless, it was great to have spent some time with Max. They had been good friends for a while now and it was good of them to hang out with one another. They shared a lot of common interests, even if one of them was Connie. 

Steven made his way back into the hotel room, as soon as he stepped in he noticed that Connie was already curled up in bed, the only light in the room was the lamp on the bedside table. The book that she was reading had fallen out of her hands and was now lying on top of the bedsheets. Unfortunately, she had lost her page. 

Steven peeled off his denim jacket and smiled. It was clear that she was probably trying to stay awake so that she could speak to him when he returned. It was his fault for spending a little too long outside with Max. It didn’t matter, it wasn’t even as if it was super late - Connie had just been incredibly tired from the days that she had been having. 

Steven knew how tiring and tough going on tour could be. He felt nothing by sympathy for her. 

He ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times as he walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He was still a little high from the weed that he had smoked, but his tolerance was still incredibly high from when he used to smoke it far too often. It took him a lot to get him completely wasted, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel a little spacey as he held onto the bathroom sink for support. 

He glanced up into the middle and took a good look at himself. Admittedly, he didn’t think he looked as bad as he had thought considering the last couple of days he had. His hair was slightly dishevelled from where he had been running his fingers through, but other than that - his flannel shirt was relatively straight. 

He made sure to brush his teeth and use the bathroom before making his way to bed to be beside Connie. He crawled onto the bed and gently moved the book away from her before it fell on the floor during the middle of the night.

Steven pulled the covers up and tucked her in so that she was comfortable and didn’t get too cold. Being late in the year, each of the states they were visiting was a mixture of all of the temperatures that you could find. 

Without trying to disturb her, he cuddled up to her the best that he could. It was the one way he knew how to comfort her. He wanted to make sure that he could be close to her...and the baby. 

He leant over once more as he switched the light off beside them, gently planting a small kiss on her temple as he passed before wrapping his arms around her and closing his eyes. 


	13. Detroit, MI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to visit the Kayori household...
> 
> It's chaos.

Max, Connie and Steven sat in the back of the Toober ready to pull up to their destination. Max hadn’t seen her dad since he had come down for Connie’s book release party, which in comparison to how long she had gone without seeing him sometimes at college was a surprisingly short amount of time. 

Although, it had been a while since she had seen her brothers. Her eldest brother, Carter was usually nowhere to be seen. He was too busy being an adult and making sure that he could live a normal family life. Max didn’t mind, Carter was cool and it didn’t mean that he didn’t come and see his little sister now and then. She liked seeing Carter's family that he had built outside of the original Kayori household. They would often all meet up for holidays and other than the occasional text - that was fine. 

Ryan was in the process of moving out of the Kayori family home after years of building up as much as he could to make sure that he could purchase his own home, or at least try! Richard wasn’t going to kick him out of the house anytime soon if he was working his butt off to make sure that he could eventually move out. 

Dylan, Max’s youngest brother, spent most of his time inside of his room away from the rest of the world. It would often take Richard the most encouragement to get him to go and do something else. Richard had already stated that if he didn’t find some work soon enough that he would have cut off his internet supply, which gently encouraged him to send out his resume to everyone in the area. It never worked out for him though. He was too busy trying to do everything he could do to try and start a successful streaming career.

“Mr. Kayori, it’s nice to see you again!” Connie was sweet with her words as she greeted the man that she sometimes secret wished was a part of her own family. In a way, he already was. 

“Connie! How’s it going on the tour? Had to fight off any crazy fans yet?” Richard opened up his arms and allowed Connie to fall into his chest. It was the kind of greeting that Connie never received from her parents so was more than happy to receive a hug from Richard. 

“Only Steven. He’s a crazy fan!” Max scoffed with a smile, nudging Steven aggressively as he took a step backwards. 

“Hey!” Steven grabbed a hold of his arm where Max had violently pushed him. 

“Who wouldn’t be a fan of the lovely Connie Maheswaran?” Richard made sure to hold Connie tightly. It wasn’t until that very moment where Connie realised she needed that kind of love from a parental figure. 

A thought flashed through her mind where she instantly hoped that she too would have been a good enough parent to bless them with that kind of emotion. She never wanted to be emotionally cold from her child. It wouldn’t have been fair on them. Connie knew how it felt and she wouldn’t have wished it on anyone. 

“Thanks, Richard!” Connie slowly let go of the hug, wishing that she could have stayed a little longer in his arms. He smelled like cinnamon and love that she had never felt before. 

“Steven! Sorry I didn’t catch you the other week, I was too busy hanging out with the little one!” Richard spoke directly to Steven as he quickly reached over to poke Max in the stomach as if she wasn’t approaching her mid-twenties. Max stepped back and shook her head. She hated when her dad did that. 

“Dad!”

“It’s okay, it was pretty busy!” Steven laughed awkwardly as he held out his hand for Richard to shake. Richard didn’t pay attention to the hand, instantly going in for a hug instead. 

Steven happily accepted. 

“Well, why don’t you all come in? I’ve got plenty of food and drinks and I even managed to get Dylan to come out of his room for a split second - so you had better catch him quick if he's still around!” Richard joked behind the anger that he felt for his youngest son. There was so much he had in terms of opinions about him. He wouldn’t have gone into detail about it. 

Max tapped Steven on the shoulder as Connie was the first to follow Richard into the family home. Connie had been to Max’s house a few times in the past when Richard had invited her over to stay a couple of times throughout different breaks at college when she didn’t want to go and see her own family. 

It was terrible to think that she would have much preferred to have been in the Kayori household than one that she could have called her own. There was nothing back home that excited her and made her feel loved like being in the Kayori house did. 

Of course, the family had their dark secrets that they kept close to them. Things that Connie had heard Max speaking about in the past. Max had told Connie everything there was to know about her family over the years that they had known one another. However, it did take Max a long time to warm up to the idea of telling Connie everything that she held deep within her. 

Max knew that it would have been a benefit for Connie to have known about her family history. After all, she was her best friend and at the very least if she was having a bad day she would know that there would be someone out there who would understand why she wouldn’t want to get out of bed. 

Steven was surprised when he saw the family home. It wasn’t one that he had imagined when he thought of Max or the family themselves. Everything had a somewhat old-timey feel about it, including the furniture and carpet. Nothing about the entrance to the family home was modern aside from the phone that was hanging from the wall. Even then, Steven wasn’t sure that he had seen a phone attached to a wall since he was a kid. 

The house was surprisingly large, but just like his own father, Richard had a pretty successful career - at least at one time in his life. Being a professional boxer had given him enough money to raise his kids, previously facing some intense hardships. They would never have had the family home if Richard didn’t work tirelessly to make sure he could provide for his kids. 

The outcome had been incredible. 

Richard spent a lot of his professional retirement from the sport as a high school gym coach. As much as he would have liked to - Richard never got the chance to work in the same school as all of his kids attended when they were of age.

“You can throw your coats anywhere, it’s cool.” Max instructed both Steven and Connie.

“Coats go on the rack!” Richard shouted back as he heard his daughter’s words under her breath causing her to grimace at the sound of her father’s voice. It instantly threw her back to the days of being a teenager and constantly being told off by her dad by doing various things to annoy him throughout the house. 

It wasn’t as if they had ever really spent a lot of time clashing, out of all of her siblings she was certainly the closest to her dad. She imagined that was what came with being both the youngest and with being his only daughter. It was the best thing for her and she loved spending time with her dad, even if they had crashed a few times when she was younger. 

That was just natural for a family situation. If people didn’t argue it probably would have been a little strange. 

Steven and Connie took their coats off, pulling their suitcases into the hallway as they made their way into the Kayori family home. Steven quickly hung the two jackets up on the rack and followed everyone else through the rest of the house. It wasn’t what he had expected in terms of decor, but the sense of it being a family home rang through. 

“Did you do a signing today, Connie?” Richard asked as he began to walk through the kitchen, sorting out whatever needed to be sorted for dinner. He would have done everything to make sure that the dinner he was preparing would have been perfect for his guests. 

“Yes, we did! A small bookstore in the middle of Detroit.” Connie attempted to strike up a conversation as she went and stood behind one of the chairs by the dining table. 

Connie had been to the Kayori household enough to have treated it like another home. It was sad to think that she felt more at home there than she did in the place where she had grown up. 

“Oh my god! It’s _ Max and Cheese _ !” A voice suddenly shouted as they made their way around the corner of the door, noticing that his little sister and her best friends were standing inside of their kitchen. 

“ _ Ry-Ry The Good Guy _ ! My favourite dickhead!” Max shot her brother some finger guns. He was stood in the doorway in a black hoodie representing a bunch of Redbull race teams and a Detroit Tigers baseball cap. He was wearing a pair of thick-rimmed glasses and stood considerably taller than Max. Although skinny, Ryan had been blessed with his father's genes for height. 

“Max!” Richard scowled, embarrassed that his daughter would say such a thing in front of their guests. Admittedly, he knew what Max was like and wasn’t going to scowl her every time that something profound came out of her mouth. 

If that was the case, he would have been there for a long time. Steven and Connie had heard so much worse come out of Max's mouth. 

“Ryan! How are you?” Connie questioned, excited to have seen the one Kayori brother who paid plenty of attention to both her and Max.

“Not too bad, just working my ass off as per usual.” Ryan opened up his arms, allowing Connie to give him a quick hug. She hadn’t seen him in a while and it felt good to have finally seen him after so long. 

Steven stood in the background and waited for his cue to have mentioned something in the conversation. It wouldn’t have been long before he got his say. He remembered the last time that he had spent any time with Ryan was back at Max and Connie’s graduation as he pretended to be Ryan's best friend as to not blow his cover. That felt like a lifetime ago. 

“So, everyone wants dinner - right? I’ve got enough here to feed an army, so you better all be hungry!” Richard was excited to have been cooking for everyone. It was something that he usually only got to do on special occasions. 

“Dad, we’re  _ always  _ hungry.” Max added.

“Someone go and get your brother and force him to be sociable.” Richard sighed, wanting to try his hardest to summon Dylan from the cave he was currently living in. 

“He is sociable. He’s on InstaSnap all the time! His promotional game is whack though - no wonder he has no subscribers.” Max joked, clapping her hands together. She knew it would have been incredibly entertaining for them to have dragged him out of the dimly lit room that he spent most of his days in. 

“Not what I mean. Food will be ready in an hour, make yourselves at home.” Richard corrected as he welcomed both Steven and Connie into their home. 

“Thank you, Mr.Kayori!” Steven smiled politely, only to have been told that he didn’t have to be so formal when it came to names. Richard would have been happy with just his first names. There was no need for formalities. 

“Alright, so now we have an hour to terrorise Dylan. What’s the plan?” Ryan leant on the countertop with his elbows, speaking a little quieter so that his dad wouldn’t have been able to hear the plan. It didn't matter how old any of the siblings were - they were going to have terrorised one another regardless.

Steven and Connie stepped a little closer, more than ready to be a part of the sibling rivalry. From the way that they were speaking, nobody was in their twenties. All of them were still children - especially when it came to their siblings. They were all slightly disappointed that Carter wasn’t there to give them a hand, he was the master of pranks back in the day. 

“I think we just go in, hard and strong. Make his life hell for a bit? Anything to interrupt the stream.” Max leant on the palm of her hand as she mirrored her brother’s stance. 

“Do you guys do anything other than bully each other?” Connie cocked an eyebrow, her and Steven a little bit confused. Not growing up without siblings was a completely different experience to the one that Max had with her brothers. 

“It’s how we show our love.” Max nodded before forming a heart shape with her hands and smiling over at Ryan. 

“Exactly! We just bully Dylan more because we love him the  _ most _ !” Ryan smiled back as he copied Max’s heart. 

There was a slight silence between them both as they exchanged glances, bursting out laughing at one another. 

“Nah, we bully Dylan more because he’s a peen.” Max explained as she looked towards both Steven and Connie. 

“That...makes sense.” Steven scratched the back of his neck. 

“You two really have no siblings, huh?” Ryan questioned the guests, he was sure he had heard something about Connie being an only child before, but he wasn’t too sure about Steven. After finding out Max was friends with the man from the emo band, he had done a lot of digging on finding out as much about Rose Quartz’ son as possible. 

Despite what some of the reports online had specified about Steven, he had always thought he was a stand-up guy. If Max approved of him and had a good time hanging out with them then Ryan saw no issue with her being around the guy. Let alone working with the guy’s dad! 

Ryan was still a little shocked that Max had gotten in with a bunch of famous people. Although, with her personality being as fun as it was he couldn’t help but feel as if it was incredibly suited. He wouldn’t have seen it any other way. 

“Nope!” Steven laughed, he had never really thought about what it would have been like to have had a sibling. It had been him and his dad against the world for as long as he could remember. It would have been strange to have someone else there too. 

“All alone!” Connie added, knowing that as a kid she would have loved to have a sibling. Someone to have simply tried to have been friends with. She was surprised that her parents had even had her, considering they always seemed so busy that it would have been hard to keep up with another kid. 

Connie knew from an early age that she would have ended up alone throughout her childhood - and she did. It wasn’t until she was in high school when she began to make some friends that she could have called permanent. Even then, Max was the first person that she had met in college that could have related somewhat to how she was feeling in that respect. 

Connie was thankful every single day that she had met Max. 

“Damn. Well, want to have the true sibling experience? Come watch us beat up our brother.” Ryan attempted to get them both in with terrorising Dylan. It would have been great fun! 

“You’re not  _ really  _ going to beat him up, are you?” Steven furrowed his eyebrows. He would have considered Buck, Sour Cream and Jenny like his siblings. They were the closest he was ever going to get to that sort of emotional connection - even Max could have easily come in that category in his mind. 

Although, he would never think about kicking their ass. That would have been...mean. 

“Well, it depends on the day.” Max laughed, finding it a little too hilarious that Ryan’s comments had forced his face to drop. “But in all seriousness, we’ll just mess around for a bit and probably interrupt his video games enough that he throws a tantrum.” Max shrugged. 

“So, want to come?” Ryan asked them both once more, seeing if they would be willing to participate in some Kayori family drama. It felt as if the plan that they had conducted was one that they had pulled off many times in the past. 

With all of them growing up together, it was most certainly something that they had done time and time again. 

Steven and Connie looked at each other and shrugged. There was nothing for them to lose by going to see Max and Ryan make their brother’s life hell for a few moments...or at least until dinner was ready. 

Steven couldn’t help but think about the living situation of them all inside the house and what it meant to have a family of that size. What about his baby? Would they ever have any more kids so that they could have siblings? Steven hadn’t been brought up with any siblings and neither had Connie and they both seemed to have turned out fine.

Maybe one kid was enough? 

He attempted to shake the thought out of his mind, it was silly to think about another kid when they had only just found out about the first. He couldn’t help the idea of building a family with Connie escaping his mind. It was something that he thought about a lot and since the announcement of the baby, he had been thinking even harder about it. 

They all made their way up the stairs to the bedroom at the end of the hall that Dylan was in. Before Carter moved out years and years ago, Dylan and Ryan used to share a room. Max had always had her own room and that was a blessing in its own right. The last thing she would have ever wanted was to have to share with one of her brothers, especially since it probably would have ended up being Dylan. 

Connie remembered the first time that she had visited the Kayori household. It hadn’t been quite so different from how it was then. She had gotten along with both Ryan and Carter incredibly well, but Dylan was a different story. Dylan was very much someone who Connie would have preferred to have avoided at all costs. 

Not only did Dylan Kayori hit on Connie the first time that they had met, he also continued to try and pursue her for a while. Obviously, it didn’t work. Although, Dylan was too up himself to realise otherwise. It did mean that Max got to beat her brother up for being a disgusting pig on multiple occasions and that was always a win. 

To this day, Dylan was still telling his friends that he had been the one to turn down Connie. As if she had nothing to do with it - that was just the kind of asshole that he was and always would be. 

Connie would have preferred to have avoided him, even if that was years ago back in their first year of college with Max. 

Steven walked down the hall, noticing a door that still had adhesive stuck to the wood where the colourful name ‘Max’ once sat. He was a little curious to know what Max’s childhood room looked like if any of her things were still in there. The next-door simply had strange scratches in the wood that Steven couldn’t quite figure out the meaning to, only assuming that it was once Carter’s room which now Ryan inhabited. They eventually got to the end where Dylan’s room was. 

Steven was a little surprised to have seen a red light above Dylan’s bedroom door reminiscent of a recording studio. 

“Does he live in a nuclear fallout shelter?” Steven furrowed his eyebrows as he pointed up at the red light that was currently on. 

“A combination of the smell and the number of hours he’s clocked on  _ Fallout _ are probably clear indications that say you’re right.” Max pointed towards Steven as she stood by the door, whispering so that her brother couldn’t hear her. 

“So, what are you thinking? Classic raid?” Ryan pressed his ear to the door before speaking, standing opposite Max on the other side of the doorframe. 

“Ooo, a true classic. Simple chair drag?” Max questioned. 

“Agreed. You get the back, I’ll get the bottom.” 

“Alright. Let’s get him.” Max rubbed her hands together and winked at Steven and Connie. “Watch this, this is the true spirit of sharing blood with people.” 

Connie had already been subjected to plenty of Kayori sibling battles, especially when she had gone to stay around their house on several occasions. One of which included Ryan waking up Max with a bottle of water, which ultimately woke Connie up at the same time as she chased him around the house. 

Max counted to three on her fingers as she stared over at Ryan. It was hilarious to see them both head to head, practically identical in posture as they agreed on each other’s plan to make their brother’s life hell. 

“Raid!!!” Ryan shouted as he aggressively pushed the door open, causing it to crash loudly against the wall behind it. 

They were immediately greeted by an incredibly dimly lit room with one huge computer desk positioned on the right side. The computer desk had everything you could think of on it, from an abundance of different computer monitors, speakers, games consoles and LED lights flashing everywhere. Even the keyboard and mouse were flashing an array of different colours. There was a surprising amount of energy drink cans surrounding the desk and even what looked to have been a mini-fridge by the occupant’s feet. 

“That was one hell of a save, my Dylandos! What the-” Dylan twisted his head towards the door, knowing by now that something was about to happen to him. It had happened far too many times in the past. He much preferred it when Max was somewhere else…

Far far away in Nashville or college was the best place for her. That way she wouldn’t have been around to spend all of her time intimidating Dylan. 

He turned in the chair in complete shock, holding onto his console controller, a colourful headset sitting on top of his unruly afro, the computer screen in front of him signalling his death in the video game. A second monitor showed the live feed on a streaming site. Luckily, he only had one viewer and that was himself checking to make sure that the stream was running smoothly. 

“This is a raid! Hands up, punk!” Max shouted as she grabbed the top of the computer chair as quickly as she could before Dylan could force some kind of reaction as a way of trying to get them to stop. Although, no matter what he did they wouldn’t have left him alone. 

Ryan grabbed the bottom of the chair and they both got to work on tipping it backwards, causing Dylan’s headset to fly off his head and into the desk. It didn’t take long for them to brutally force Dylan to the floor by nearly breaking the computer chair he was sitting on. He had gone down with his ship, now lying on his back as he angrily tried to get back up. 

“I fucking hate you two, get the hell out of here! You’re wrecking my shit for no reason! You've fucked up my stream!” Dylan shouted as he tried to get back up, only being pushed back down by his older and much larger brother. 

“Stay down! This is official police business.” Ryan practically pushed on his chest with his foot, keeping him down on the chair. Dylan had successfully managed to keep a strong grip of the controller he was holding. 

“Fuck the police, man. Get off me! You know I have asthma!” Dylan attempted to push his brother’s foot out of the way, still struggling to get up off his back, his feet in the air where the chair was still tipped. 

“Hey, loser! I’m back home for the night, are you not going to greet your incredibly lovable sister with open arms or stay down there like a tortoise?” Max shook her head as she looked over her brother that was closest to her in age. He truly was the biggest of losers. 

“Yeah, dude, Max is here! Get the fuck up. Stop being so rude!” Ryan kicked him once again, causing him to attempt to squirm to his feet. 

“Maybe I wouldn’t be so  _ fucking  _ rude if you assholes didn’t treat me like shit! This is totally not poggers and my stream is going to be lacking content. F in chat, bro - I'm five followers away from being an affiliate.” Dylan snapped as he struggled to get up. It was clear that he had lost in whatever online game he was playing. 

"Hey! I followed you, asshole!" Max pushed Dylan in the back slightly, causing him to somewhat fall into his desk. He grumbled at the touch. 

"You never come to any of my streams - so what's the point? The Dylando Nation doesn't need your fake support." Dylan shook his head. 

"Dylando Nation? I think I know why nobody wants to join. That's a terrible name." Max laughed. If she was going to have promoted anything like it, then that wouldn't have been a name she would have gone anywhere near. How...lame. 

"You're a terrible name!" 

"What?" Max squinted. Her brother was an idiot. 

"Nothing. You're not poggers enough to understand the humour." Dylan shook his head. 

"No, I'm an adult with a job. I have better things to do than to understand what a  _ poggers _ is. I also have much better humour than you, dork." 

"Not too sure about that, chief." Dylan folded his arms and pouted slightly, continuing to spew his streamer slang to a room of people who didn't understand nor care. Especially Max. 

“Aw, baby bro - we’re playing!” Ryan clenched his fist and gently nudged Dylan in the shoulder as he placed the console controller onto the desk and gently tidied the cables of the headset that they had practically ripped off his head. 

“Whatever. Why are you in the state? I thought you were snorting coke with rockstars in Miami or something.” Dylan turned to speak to Max who was a little confused by his words. 

“Jesus, man - do you even read my texts?” Max furrowed her eyebrows, a little irritated that Dylan had no idea how hard she had been working. 

“Nah, reading is for nerds and try-hards.” Dylan spoke in a serious tone. 

“What?” Max’s expression dropped to one of sheer confusion. “I knew you were always an idiot - but really?”

Connie looked over at Steven, wanting to find some kind of comfort as they looked through the door at the incredibly strange scenario that was playing out in front of them. It wasn’t what they had expected, but then again, they weren’t quite sure what they should have expected from Max. It could have been anything. She was always unpredictable and it turned out that her brothers were just like it. 

“Look, I just don’t know what you’re up to. It’s not like you give a shit what I’m up to.” Dylan brushed himself off as he picked up the desk chair that his siblings had violently thrown on the floor without any consideration for his things. 

“Bumming around, playing video games, jacking off and eating cheese flavoured snacks isn’t  _ worth  _ giving a shit about.” Max scoffed, incredibly unimpressed with her brother’s attitude. He had never made an effort to do...anything. After all of the hard work that Max had put into everything from the moment she was put into the education system to being pushed into the working world, it felt awful to know her brother wasn’t at least trying to get out of bed in the morning. 

“One day Cheese Dippers is going to sponsor me. Then we’ll see who has the last laugh,  _ Maxine _ .” Dylan pointed aggressively at his sister. 

"It's  _ Max _ ." She corrected. 

“She’s got a point about the cheese snacks, bro.” Ryan shrugged as he pointed his thumb over to Max. 

“Whatever. We can’t all be as special as you two.” Dylan shrugged his shoulders as he readjusted his glasses and quickly shook his hand through his curly hair. He grabbed his phone off his desk and placed it inside of his pocket, pushing past his siblings and making his way through the door past both Steven and Connie. 

He stopped and turned on his heel, realising who was in his doorway. Steven Universe. Dylan kept his eyes on Steven making him feel slightly intimidated by the act. 

"You're the dude in the dumb band that Max likes, right? The one with all the followers?" Dylan squinted, curious to know more about the man in question. 

"It's not a dumb band!" Max shouted. 

"Shut up, Max - I'm talking to the music man." 

"Ignore him, Steven." Ryan instructed, already knowing that Dylan would have continued to say something stupid. 

"Yes? Can I...help you?" Steven stepped back slightly, not wanting to show that he was a little intimidated by the man. He was backed into the doorframe. 

"Can you take a picture with me? I think it'll be good for the clout, y'know? I mean, you're not  _ that _ famous, but it's something." Dylan pulled out his phone as if Steven was going to have complied to such a request. 

Admittedly, if it wasn't for the people surrounding him - he probably would have accepted the ask. 

"Oh no. No no no! Get the fuck out of here!" Max shook her head, pointing out of the door to make Dylan leave. He wouldn't have usually gone without a fight, but it seemed as if they had all kicked him out of his usual domain. 

"You're in  _ my _ bedroom, idiots!" Dylan shouted back, standing by the stairs as he continued to grumble. They had been the ones to kick him out. 

"We came to see if you wanted to join us for dinner, but y'know...you're being a douchebag." Ryan scowled, attempting to take control of the situation. Being the oldest he knew at some point he would have to step up and when Carter had left home all those years ago he had done just that. 

"I'd rather suck a dick than eat with you chumps." Dylan took a step towards the stairs and lifted his middle finger at them all.

"Go on then." Max urged. 

"I'm not sucking a dick, that's  _ gay _ !" Dylan shouted back as he walked down the stairs. 

"All the more reason to!" Max cupped her hands around her mouth as she spoke. 

"I'm not gay!" 

"You can't escape being a queer Kayori, Dylan! It catches up to us all eventually!" Max laughed as she shouted. 

"Shut up, Max! I'm going out." 

It seemed as if there was nowhere that Dylan wanted to be other than anywhere where other people were not. Especially his family. 

Max and Ryan stood inside of Dylan's room, staring at one another at the comments that their brother had made. Even Steven and Connie were a little confused by the whole interaction, but could easily see how Max would have been upset by the words that her brother had used previously. He had no care for what she was doing in her life - at least she made the effort to occasionally see what he was up to in stream. 

It was pretty funny to see his face light up when it looked like he had a viewer. Max adored that. 

Max took a deep breath, clenching her fists together as she prepared herself to go after him and tell him what’s what. Before she could follow him she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

“Don’t. It’s not worth it.” Ryan assured her, there was no point in going after Dylan when it would have only led to an argument. 

“I'm never around and the one time I'm about he doesn't even want to hang out with us! One meal, man. We never do anything as a family anymore!”

“Look, he’s the one missing out on good food!” Ryan joked, wanting to bring up the mood after it had been dampened by petty comments. 

Max laughed, remembering why Ryan was her favourite brother by a longshot. It was only then that she noticed Steven and Connie both looking through the doorway with sympathetic expressions. She had completely forgotten that she had brought them there with her to argue with her brother. Great.

“My dudes, I am so sorry that I have not blessed you with a welcoming experience to the Kayori household.” Max’s eyebrows dipped as she made her apology to them both. It was pretty bad for them to have to witness the way that she was speaking to her brothers and the family drama that surrounded it. 

“It’s...okay. I’ve been here before, remember?” Connie chuckled, she already knew the chaos that came from being inside of the house. Connie remembered the last time that she was there and the way they had unplugged the internet to confuse Dylan. 

Max smiled, it was nice to have someone like Connie as a friend. 

“And I’m just here for the ride.” Steven grinned. 

“I have pretty awesome friends, right?” Max nudged Ryan as she pointed towards both Steven and Connie who were completely understanding of her situation. As much as Connie didn’t know what it was like to have any siblings, she sure knew what it was like to clash with family members. 

“Yeah, you do.” Ryan nodded at them both, incredibly grateful that Max had found them both. Especially Connie. 

Ryan had already been worried about Max attending college, but as soon as she started messaging back home and speaking about her new roommate he knew that things would have been okay. Connie was the best kind of friend for Max and that was important in its own right. 

Richard was angry to discover what the commotion upstairs was all about, considering in his head he was convinced that he was going to be having a lovely family meal. That certainly wouldn’t have been the case when Dylan always wanted to go off and do his own thing. At the end of the day, Richard knew he was old enough to make his own poor choices. It had been in recent months that it seemed as if he had given up on trying to push his son to do what he needed to do. 

If he didn’t sort himself out, Richard would have continued to threaten to kick him out of the house. Deep down, Richard knew that he would never have the heart to do such a thing. All of his kids were always welcome within his house - unless they were to do something unforgivable. Even so, they would still be his kids. He would have found it hard to shun them forever. 

Richard, Ryan, Max, Steven and Connie all sat around the dining table to enjoy the meal that had been prepared. Richard had spent a long time making sure that everything was right, even taking the effort to make sure that there was dessert. 

Connie felt terrible over the fact that she was still feeling somewhat nauseated from earlier on during the day. It wasn’t as if she had eaten very much over the tour out of fear that she was going to have been sick. However, it seemed as if she was going to be sick regardless of what she ate. 

It wasn’t a sickness. It was a human growing inside of her!

Secretly, Max had already shared the news with her father about Connie’s pregnancy. If she wasn’t allowed to have posted it anywhere on social media or shared it with the world - she had to share it with someone! Sharing it with her dad was the best thing possible. 

It also meant that despite Connie feeling incredibly rude for not doing so, Richard knew why she wasn’t able to eat the entirety of the dinner that he had put in front of her. Although it wasn’t so much a compliment to his cooking, he did understand. 

Richard had been with a woman through four of her pregnancies and completely understood everything that came with it. 

It wasn’t long before they found themselves full up with the lovely meal that Richard was able to make for all of them. He was incredibly grateful that they had all enjoyed what he had made, especially after they continuously complimented him on everything throughout. 

After spending the evening together at the dining table sharing funny stories from tours and other fun events with Richard and Ryan, it was finally time for them to have all headed to bed. 

Max had already insisted that she was going to spend her night on the couch downstairs as a way to allow her two most esteemed guests to have her room. The room that was still haunted by Max’s teenage self. The room that she had never had the time to clean out throughout her time in college, so it was mostly exactly how she had left it around five years ago - a time capsule to Max. At least, everything that she didn’t take with her when she went to college or moved into the small apartment. 

“You can’t laugh - Steven!” Max pointed up at Steven who held his hands out in his defence, a little worried about what he may have seen when he entered Max’s room. He knew that it would have been interesting, to say the least. 

“I’m not going to!” Steven pressed his lips into a thin line to stop himself from giggling as Max kept one hand tightly on the door handle. 

“I don’t even understand half of it and it’s still funny to me.” Connie shrugged with a laugh, having been in Max’s old room multiple times before. 

“I always forget to take everything down and now my entire teenage self has been trapped in this time capsule that is my room!” Max groaned as he pushed open the door and switched on the light as she entered, she held open the door and allowed Steven and Connie to step inside. “Welcome to - hell!” Max presented as she held out her arm. 

Steven’s eyes widened at the sight of everything inside the room. Plastered all over the walls were posters of pretty much any band that you could think of, a collage of album covers, a double bed situated in the middle of the room and piles of things in the opposite corner. It was hard to tell what colour the walls originally were as pretty much every inch was covered in cutouts from magazines and old tour posters. 

“Woah...this is…” 

“A shrine to Soupy and his associates. I know! Thank you.” Max bowed as she presented all of the work that her teenage self put in. 

“If 2007 was a room - it would be this.” Steven nodded as he continued to look around. 

“Dude, I made this in like...2016.” Max furrowed her eyebrows. 

“Pretty pop-punk. I like it!” Steven smiled as he glanced around the room, it was interesting to see just how many different bands that Max listened to. She had a great range in what she liked, but it was clear that her teenage self was very much embedded in listening to a lot of pop-punk.

“Oh! You’re going to love this Hot Mulligan tour poster I have. I keep forgetting to take it back with me! It would look hella cool on the wall.” Max began to dig around in the pile of stuff that she had in the corner of the room. There wasn’t much organisation to it, but it seemed that if at one point there had been. 

Steven and Connie watched as Max dug around in the pile of things, interested to see what it was that she would have pulled out. Eventually, Max pulled out a framed poster that she was incredibly proud of. 

“I...uh...took it from the venue! I was surprised that they even had a poster, this was back when they were super small and only playing shows in-state. Pretty sick if you ask me!” Max was happy to have shown them both the poster, despite Connie probably not caring in the slightest about whatever it was she was saying. Max didn’t mind, any moment where she got to share something that she loved she was okay with. 

“That is really cool! Hey, is that a  _ Crosley _ ?” Steven pointed down to the record player sitting up on the dresser that looked a little worse for wear. 

“Oh yeah, it’s dead to me. Fuck that thing. I’d rather listen to six hours of someone scratching nails on a chalkboard than listen to a single song on that trash. No wonder people who buy that shit never end up collecting records.” Max scoffed, feeling a lot more educated on her vinyl record collecting than she was years ago. 

“It’s a good starting point.” Steven shrugged, brushing his finger against the top of the record player and collecting a small amount of dust. 

“Just invest in something better. Forty dollars more and you never have to touch that piece of shit. Easy!” Max laughed, showing her clear distaste for the brand. It seemed to have been a starting point for everyone - so much so that even Max had one herself. 

Nothing would have compared to the superior set-up that she had back at her apartment in Nashville. Steven would often be jealous enough to go there, smoke pot and listen to records. It was great to have someone like Max as a friend. 

"Is that..." Steven practically stumbled on his words as he looked over at the photograph on the wall. He stepped forward and took a better look, it was exactly what he thought he had seen at a first glance. 

"How did I never notice the last time I was here? I’ve been here so many times, but I’ve never seen that." Connie chuckled as she noticed Max go red at the photograph. She suddenly wished that she had purged her bedroom, completely forgetting about the image. 

There pinned on the wall was an image of Star Destroyers in their youth. Youth being when Steven was only seventeen years old, one of the first band photographs that they had ever taken together. They all looked incredibly young. 

"It was in a magazine! I cut it out and stuck it on my wall and it’s been there for ages! How the hell was I supposed to know the lead singer of Star Destroyers would ever go in my room? If you told me that when I was younger then I would have sworn you were lying! I like bands, okay?" Max huffed, finding it somewhat embarrassing that she had the picture still up in her room. 

"It's adorable. I can't believe you liked my band when we were...just starting out." Steven knew all of this already, but he shamelessly wanted to hear it again. 

"You know I've loved you guys since the beginning!" Max wanted her love for the band to be known. 

"You were really cute though!" Connie giggled as she pointed to Steven's rounded baby-face. Seventeen-year-old Steven Universe had a lot going on within his mind, especially the amount he was clashing with everyone around him at the time. It wasn't his proudest year, but one that helped make him who he was today.

"I was only seventeen." Steven blushed, gently trying to get Connie to stop pointing at the image. 

"He was pretty adorable." Max shrugged, adding to the conversation. Teenage Steven was certainly a sight. 

“Well, I’m pretty tired. I hate to say it and I'd love to look at teenage Steven all night, but I’m going to have to go to bed.” Connie attempted to hide her yawn from her friends, subtly suggesting that as much as she would have happily have sat and listened to Max and Steven speaking about records all day she would have much preferred to have gone to sleep. 

Max bit down on her tongue as she attempted to not make a pregnancy joke. Now probably wasn’t the time. 

“Alright. I guess that’s my cue to take my ass down to the couch.” Max pointed her finger in the air, knowing that this was her chance to leave. 

“Thanks for everything, Max. It’s been really cool staying here!” Steven suddenly spoke up, holding his hands together and feeling grateful for being a part of the family experience. Part of that experience was attempting to get through choppy waters with your family members. 

Surprisingly, Dylan had returned home not that long ago and immediately made his way back into his room. Without hesitation, Richard had gone up to see him and have some kind of chat. It was weird for them not to have heard any kind of argument between the two men. Richard came out of the bedroom unscathed, probably having spoken to his son in a reasonable way and understanding of his frustration with his siblings. 

Dylan didn’t listen to many people - but he had a lot of respect for his father and when he came in and spoke to him, he was usually going to have listened a little more than he would have to other people. 

“No problem, my dudes. I hope my bed is super comfy and  _ please _ \- no fooling around.” Max shook her head as she approached the door, turning around and making sure that they knew where they stood. 

“Goodnight, Max.” Connie waved with a groan, seeing her best friend grin knowing that she was making comments for the sake of it. 

“Bye, Max! See you in the morning!” Steven joined in on the waving as Max shut the door behind her and left the couple alone in the room surrounded by hundreds of watchful eyes. Thankfully, they were just posters. 

Connie let out a sigh of relief as she sat down on the end of the bed and folded over her arms. She was a little cold from the weather outside. Steven made sure to join her on the end of the bed, practically sitting on his hands. 

“So...that was fun!” Steven grinned, hoping to spark some kind of conversation with Connie before they went to bed. He watched as she started ahead, completely vacant with emotion and yet drowning in her thoughts. 

Being inside of the Kayori household was always a lot of fun, but admittedly - it could be hard. Seeing the loving home that Max grew up in was difficult, it wasn’t as if her parents were never loving, but she knew that they were nowhere near as emotionally attached as Richard was to Max. Even the little things got to her like how Max was allowed to cover her room in posters and Connie wasn’t allowed to tac more than a couple of things to the walls as they were afraid it would damage the paint. 

“Max is so lucky to have a parent who is so willing to do...anything for her. He’s so willing to listen, change and understand what she wants - what she needs. He didn’t even make any kind of harsh comment when she told him that she wanted to change her entire life after studying for four years!” Connie turned away for a moment, feeling deflated by her speech. “I’m going to have to tell them, Steven. I don’t have a lot of choices - they’re going to find out anyway when they come and visit and we have a baby! How am I supposed to tell my parents? They’re still not even comfortable with the idea of me being with you and we’ve been together for years! I don’t. I don’t-” Connie began to stutter as Steven shuffled closer.

Steven gently lifted his arm so that he could be as close to her as possible, allowing her to fall into his chest. She didn’t want to cry, but she did. Steven felt terrible that he hadn’t noticed - but she had been holding it in all day. Her emotions were all caught up with one another and being at Max’s hadn’t helped. 

“Connie, it’s okay.” Steven spoke with a whisper into her hair before planting a few sweet kisses on the top of her head. “We’ll figure it out. We always do!”

Connie knew that Steven was right and yet at that moment she couldn’t seem to comprehend the truth. Her parents were going to have been their usual judgemental selves and that was something that she was going to have to deal with. 

Perhaps that was the scariest thing about being pregnant?

Connie noticed that her tears were falling onto Steven’s shirt, instantly pulling herself away from him and allowing his thumb to slowly brush against the top of her cheek. He pressed his lips together and raised his eyebrows to give her a sympathetic look. He was so desperate to make sure that she was okay. 

“I’m sorry.” Connie apologised as she wiped away the remainder of her tears. 

“It’s fine! You don’t need to apologise. This is...scary. Really scary!” Steven chuckled nervously, not wanting to truly admit how weird the whole experience was. “Sure, your parents are going to find out - but that’s fine. They’re getting better at this whole...letting you do your own thing, right?” 

“I guess, but not enough for me to spring onto them that we’re having a baby together. They’ll just think I’ve thrown everything away for...you.” Connie didn’t want to say the words, placing her hand against his chest as she sat beside him. He placed his hand on top of hers and brought it up to his lips, kissing her fingers. 

He knew that she meant something a lot nicer than how it had sounded when it came out. It wasn’t about him in particular. It was about the life that Connie chose to live with him rather than with one of the many suitors that her parents had originally picked for her. Steven wasn’t the man that they had ever envisioned their daughter being with. 

“I didn’t mean-” Connie spoke quickly, worried that her words may have been enough to offend Steven. 

“I know. I know what you mean. It doesn’t matter though, haven’t we sort of...accepted their disapproval by now? Hey, when was the last time you did something because your parents wanted you to do it?” Steven smirked, attempting to cheer her up. 

“I don’t even think I remember. I’ve kind of been going against them for a while now…” Her words made her feel somewhat guilty. 

“Exactly! So, we can have a baby together! Right?” Steven tried his hardest to be as positive as he possibly could at the moment. It wasn’t like him to have always thought about things this way, but he knew that for Connie’s sake he had to make sure he was in a different mindset. Even if it was just for the current conversation. 

“Yeah...you’re right.” Connie was never going to have won an argument against it. Regardless of what they did, her parents probably wouldn’t have approved. Even if she had done everything that they ever wanted her to have done, there probably would have been something that she had done wrong. 

“You look tired. We should probably go to bed.” Steven suggested as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear carefully. 

Connie nodded as she stood up and began to get ready for bed. Steven was quick to follow her actions and make sure that he too was ready to curl up in Max’s old bed and sleep for the night. The thought was bizarre to him that they would have been sleeping in  _ Max’s _ bed. 

Either way, they managed to climb into the bed and close their eyes enough to fall into a deep sleep. Except, Steven couldn’t sleep at all. He noticed for a while that Connie was also struggling to fall asleep, he imagined that just like him she also had plenty of things on her mind that was keeping her up at night. 

Although, after about an hour and a half of trying to get to sleep, Steven noticed that Connie had drifted off - leaving him to twist and turn around for a long time to try to get himself to fall asleep. 

Nothing was working. 

Eventually, he threw a hoodie over his head and quietly made his way out of Max’s room into the dark corridor. All he wanted to do was to see if he could clear his head with some fresh air. That being said, he made his way through the hallways and then through the kitchen to the backdoor. 

He was yet to go into the Kayori’s backyard, but he was at least hoping there would have been some kind of seating. Thankfully, as soon as he opened the door he was greeted by a patio and a couple of large seats that looked incredibly comfy under the stars. 

He placed his hands into his pockets and jumped slightly as he stepped outside, triggering the lights on the patio. He hoped that he hadn’t woken anyone up with the lights. The only person who had a bedroom at the back of the house was Dylan and Steven couldn’t quite imagine he was even in bed yet. By the sounds of it, he was mostly nocturnal. 

Steven slumped himself down on one of the chairs and stared up at the night sky. It was kind of cold outside, but the sky was clear. It was...beautiful. 

Steven lost himself in thought as he stared upwards, making sure that he was taking himself somewhere else inside of his mind. He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting there until someone opened the door to the back yard. 

“Can’t sleep?” A familiar voice sounded behind Steven as he sat inside of the chair with his hands in his jacket pockets. He could just about see his breath under the automated light attached to the side of the house. 

Steven turned slightly to see Richard Kayori closing the back door and sitting down in the chair beside him. He noticed that Richard had a packet of cigarettes in his hand and a lighter. 

“Something like that.” Steven sighed, realising that he should have felt embarrassed about coming out into the yard when it wasn’t even his house. He didn’t want to feel as if he was invading their space. He should have just stayed inside. 

“Do you mind if I-”

“No, go ahead.” Steven shook his head, making sure that Richard knew that he could smoke around him. As much as Steven had never been one for cigarettes, it wasn’t as if he was ever going to request that the man couldn’t smoke outside his own house. 

“Y’know, it’s a bad habit - I’ve tried to quit, but it’s really not that easy. You think you have it and then suddenly a bad day comes along and you’re back to square one. It’s...I should know better, but we all have a weakness. My old boxing coach would have killed me if he saw me with one of these.” Richard chuckled to himself before placing a cigarette between his lips and lighting it.

Steven listened carefully to the man speaking, it felt as if his words were genuine. Richard had always been incredibly loveable towards Max and everyone around him. Steven hoped that when he was a dad he would be the perfect combination of both his father and Richard. He had silently been picking up tips from just about everything since he had found out they were having a baby. 

Richard noticed how sad Steven looked as he stared down at the floor by his feet in particle darkness. 

“What’s on your mind, kid? I can tell something’s eating away at you, I know that look.” Richard pressed, wanting to know what was bothering Steven. His caring nature meant that he couldn’t go without figuring out why people were sad and being a shoulder to cry on. 

Steven thought about all of the things that were on his mind, most of them were things that he had been struggling to keep to himself. Things that he had tried his hardest to keep bottled up. Things that he knew that on the tour he had nobody to speak to about them. It had become incredibly difficult for him to process the things within his mind, even after using the techniques that his therapist had taught him. 

“Has Max mentioned anything about...Connie?” Steven furrowed his eyebrows as he stared ahead, not bothering to look up at Richard. 

“Uh...she may have mentioned something on the phone that I was sworn to secrecy about.” Richard pressed his lips into a thin line.

It came to no surprise that Max had spoken to her dad about it. She was up to telling him most things that happened in her life, it was just the kind of relationship that they had together. In a way, it was nice that they were able to do such a thing. 

Steven chewed on his bottom lip as he thought about everything that had gone on in his mind since he had found out the news. There was so much that he wanted to process that he simply couldn’t. Everything had been moving far too fast with the tour that it was hard to take a moment to take it all in. 

“I should be happy, right?” Steven suddenly looked towards Richard with watery eyes, looking for some kind of answer.

“About that? I managed to do it four times. Every single time I asked myself the same questions. Was I going to be a good dad? How was I going to be able to afford a  _ baby _ ? How could I look after another human when I could barely look after myself?” Richard took a drag of the cigarette before continuing. “What I’m trying to say is...what you’re going through is normal. It’s  _ new _ , it’s going to freak you out and that’s okay!” 

“I’m really excited, being a dad seems cool!” Steven looked down at his hands as he spoke. 

“Oh, it’s real cool!” Richard interjected. 

“-But, I’m finding it hard to focus on the positives when the only things I can think about are making me terrified...I-I want to be with Connie. I just...I’m scared I’m going to mess things up.” Steven sniffed, turning away from Richard to hide the sadness in his expression.

“Being in love  _ is _ scary, but by the looks of it - you’re doing just fine. Connie  _ adores _ you!” Richard chuckled, thinking back to all the times he had seen the young couple together. “Remember her graduation? It was so hard to not comment on how adorable you both looked together that I just spent most of my time discussing the breadsticks.” Richard laughed as he thought back to the fond memory. 

Steven couldn’t help but smile at the memory he had of being at Connie’s graduation. It had been the first time that he had made any kind of impression on her parents. The one time that he had tried his hardest to be the person that he thought that Connie’s parents would want from him. 

However, just by wearing a tie, it wasn’t as if he got what he wanted from them. Even after all of the years that they had been together now, it was still something that he couldn’t seem to get past. The idea of her parents always looming over them was a terrifying thought. He had no idea what was going to happen when they told them that Connie was pregnant. Let alone if he ever got around to finally asking her to marry him. 

He knew that there was no way that they were going to approve of that decision. Although it had been so long since Steven had purchased the ring he was surprised if he ever got around to doing it. Even if it was the one thing on his mind that he wanted to make sure he did - hopefully, by the end of the tour. 

“I want to be with Connie for the rest of my life...I just don’t know how to say it.” Steven sighed as he made sure to look away again. His emotions once again flowed through. There was nothing that he could have done to solve his issue other than to get over himself and just do it. 

The worst thing that could have happened would have been for her to have said no. That would have been terrible...but he doubted it. Even then, at the back of his mind, he was still doubting the idea that she would have said yes. It was silly to think of considering she had given him no signal to say that could have even been a possibility. 

“Usually, people like yourself do it with a ring.” Richard snorted, finding himself emerged in the conversation. He had once been in the same position as Steven, but despite it looking as if it had lasted him a long time - it only served to have made him miserable in the end. At least it seemed as if Steven had a stronger kind of love with Connie than Richard ever had with who he assumed to have been the love of his life. 

Steven could hear Max’s sarcasm shine through on her father, instantly allowing him to notice where she must have got her quirky personality from. He had spoken to Max recently about what he was going to have done in terms of a proposal and all she could give him were words that all linked together but didn’t make much sense. 

All Max had done was to try and push Steven to do it. It was what he needed to do and what he needed to hear, except the words still hadn’t convinced him that it was the best route for him to have taken when it came to their relationship. There just never seemed to have been the right time. 

Steven reached into his pocket, knowing that as per usual he was carrying around the engagement ring to propose at the right moment. All of the times that he had suspected to have been the perfect times had all served to have been...terrible times. 

“I wanted to propose...but now it seems a little trivial with the baby coming.” Steven sighed deeply, showing off the ring to Richard who was incredibly impressed with the young man’s effort. 

“You’re worried that she’ll think you’re only trying to marry her because of the baby? Is  _ that  _ what you’re getting all twisted up about?” Richard spoke in a surprised tone, interested to hear what Steven had to say. He was sure he understood what Steven was trying to get at with his concerns. They were completely legitimate. 

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Steven closed the lid on the small box that contained the ring before putting it away, a little bit worried that Connie was going to come out into the yard at any given moment and see the surprise that he had been working on for months. 

“Well, this is an easy one. Do you  _ love  _ her?” Richard began his questioning, attempting to make sure that Steven was aware of where he was sitting in his relationship. 

“Of course, I love her so much!” Steven sat up slightly in his chair, wanting to make his point heard. There was nothing that would have pointed in any other direction. He would have done everything and more for Connie if she needed it. 

“And you want to spend the rest of your life with her?”

“Yes! More than anything!” 

“And you want to have this baby?”

“Yes! I know I sound like I’m scared, but I want to have a baby with her!” Steven’s eyebrows dipped at the thought of his life being anything different. There was no way that he could have ever imagined a life without Connie anymore. 

No matter what he thought about in the future the one thing that was a constant was Connie. She was always going to be there - no matter what. 

“So, what’s the problem? Why can’t you propose?” 

“What if she says ‘no’?” Steven spoke shyly, realising how embarrassed he was to have said the words. He knew that when he said it he had sounded silly. There was no way that it would have been any other way than her saying...yes. 

Richard placed his spare hand on Steven’s shoulder and squeezed slightly to show him some kind of comfort. After having three sons he knew what he had to do to get through to Steven and to make sure he felt loved. Steven was happy to have accepted his comfort. 

“That girl loves you so much and you love her too - she’s  _ never  _ going to say no to you.” Richard smiled as he kept his grip on Steven’s shoulder. 

Steven glanced over to his shoulder and noticed Richard’s comforting touch. It felt just like when his dad did the same thing to him. Richard’s words rang true within his mind, despite him being the one he had to contend to. It wasn’t his fault that his mind was bullying him into thinking something completely different from what he should have been feeling.

“She...she does love me a lot…” Steven smiled at the thought, reminding himself of all the times that she had told him exactly that. No girl had ever done that to him before. Nobody. Connie truly was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. 

“So, what are you waiting for?” Richard laughed, taking another drag of the cigarette. 

Steven chewed on his lip as he thought about the question. 

“The perfect moment.” 

“By the sounds of it - any moment is going to be perfect as long as it’s got you and her in it. You were made for one another.” Richard playfully poked his shoulder, attempting to convince him to do what he needed to do to show how much he loved her. How much he wanted to be with her. 

Steven knew that everything he was speaking about was correct. There was no way that he wouldn’t have believed whatever Richard Kayori had said. From everything that he knew, Richard was a clever man who did everything he could to make sure his family pulled through. Times had been tough, but he had seen them through it. 

Richard was the sort of father that Steven wished he could have been once his child was born. He was more than ready to have been put up to the challenge of making sure that he could have been the best father humanly possible. He was more than ready to have more conversations with every father figure in his life about what it took to have been a dad. 

However, at this moment - he wanted to know what it would take to have a loving husband. 

“You’re right…” Steven stared down at his hands once more, allowing Richard to see right through all of his anxieties. 

“You’re a sweet guy, Steven. Anything is going to make her day! Make her entire life!” Richard chuckled as he bent over in the chair and stubbed the cigarette out on the patio. 

“You think I should just do it?” 

“I don’t think you have anything to lose.” 

“What if I lose Connie?” Steven’s fears suddenly became prominent within his mind, allowing for even Richard to see what he was worried about. 

Richard turned in the chair slightly so that Steven could have his full attention. 

“Now, we both know that’s never going to happen.” Richard nodded before holding out his hand and placing it on Steven’s shoulder once more. He squeezed hard as he smiled, allowing Steven to feel the supportive comfort that came from speaking to Richard. 

He was right and Steven was pleased to have heard it. Coming from someone else - it felt so much more real. As if his feelings had been justified. 

“Funny, Max said the same thing.” Steven snorted, thinking back on his conversation with the youngest Kayori. 

“That’s because Max is smart.” Richard spoke proudly of his daughter. “I know she’s not one for the romance side of things, but she sure as hell knows how to be a good friend and a great kid for that matter.” 

“Yeah...you’re right. Max is a great friend.” Steven spoke softly, knowing that what he was saying was relating to both what Richard had just said about Max and all of the things he had previously mentioned about being with Connie.

Richard looked up at the night sky and took a deep breath. Despite it being incredibly cold outside, it seemed as if he was used to it. Steven wondered how often Richard came outside and spent some time alone. What Steven didn’t realise was quite how often that was and how often that Richard needed that. 

He had lived a stressful life. It was important for him to have moments to himself where he wouldn’t have to do anything that brought his levels of upset above where they needed to have been. 

“You should probably try to get some sleep. You’ve got a flight to catch tomorrow.” Richard spoke in a tone that could have come across as a suggestion but sounded more like an instruction from a strict parent.

As if on cue, Steven attempted to cover up a yawn with his hand. He knew that Connie wouldn’t have enjoyed him crawling back inside bed beside her with cold hands, he was going to have to warm them up slightly before he went back. He shoved his hands into the front of his hoodie pocket and smiled over at Richard. 

“Thanks for...talking to me.” Steven smirked with a slight nod, feeling happy that he was able to speak to someone about how he was feeling. It was nice to have heard it from yet another person. 

“Anytime, Steven.” Richard nodded back as he placed both his hands on either side of the chair and lifted himself. It was only then that he turned around and held out his hand to help aid Steven in getting up himself. 

Steven happily accepted the offer, gripping onto Richard’s hand as he hoisted him out of the chair. Steven brushed the front of his hoodie and smiled up at the man that was far taller than he was. He couldn’t have even begun to imagine what he was like as a boxer...he probably kicked a lot of ass. 

“Goodnight, Mr.Kayori.” Steven smiled as he held his hands in his pockets and went to walk back inside. 

Before he could even get to the back door he heard a voice behind him. 

“Steven?”

“Yeah?”

There was a pause between them. 

“You’re going to be a really good dad, remember that - okay? And if you ever get caught out...I've got plenty of years experience. Give me a call if you ever need to talk, alright?” 

Steven attempted to process the words, his mind still in shock that being a dad was something that he was going to have been. It was still so strange to have said something like that out loud. It sounded even weirder coming from someone else. 

“Thank you.” 

With that, Steven smiled before entering the back of the property and leaving Richard to open his packet of cigarettes to smoke another. 


	14. Philadelphia, PA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go shopping because apparently, I can't write a single Star Destroyers story without them going to a fucking mall. 
> 
> Sorry, what? Oh, shit - the mic's on. Oh, uh...whoops. Tits. Anyway...
> 
> The crew get kitted out for a black-tie event.

Steven felt as if he couldn’t stop thanking Richard Kayori as they left the morning after. It was nice for Steven to have been able to speak to someone like Richard about the current situation he was facing with his relationship. It was nice to know that he had a lot of support around him when it came to the things he still wasn’t completely sure about. 

Connie had woken up feeling slightly better than what she had done the previous night, but that didn’t stop her mind from hounding her with thoughts that mostly included her parent's disapproval. However, that didn’t quite differ very much from her every day. 

Max didn’t quite want to say goodbye to her dad and Ryan. It was nice of Steven and Connie to have agreed to have taken the detour so that they could stay in her childhood home. Richard had even been nice enough to wake up early in the morning and make them pancakes before they had to go to the airport. 

He had even been kind enough to offer them a ride to the airport, which they had to decline. It wouldn’t have been fair on him to have made that trip, especially having to drive back home on top.

Surprisingly, Ryan had even offered to drive. Once again, they declined. As much as Max was happy to have hung around with her favourite brother more, she knew that he also had a life to contend with that taking them to the airport would have interrupted. 

Tomorrow, they were going to have attended an event that they weren’t too sure of. It was an event that Philip Butler had invited them to. One that they had briefly discussed going to and all agreed that they would. 

Max was certainly excited about being invited to a famous person’s party. This kind of fame was the sort of fame that got you on television every weekend. The kind of fame that the people who would have been around her would have been people who she would have only ever seen on the screen. Max would never have been prepared for the number of famous people she was going to have seen at the party. 

It was going to have been nuts. 

Steven was still a little uncertain. Their day in San Francisco had been weird and had ended with his Vans being covered in Connie’s vomit - which now he knew was down to her pregnancy didn’t quite feel so upset about it. Not that he was mad before. 

Just...he wished he hadn’t been washing his shoes in Philip Butler’s sink.

The event that they had been invited to was incredibly fancy. It wasn’t like the event in L.A. that they had attended during the first tour. This one was a lot more under wraps and none of them guessed it would have gotten as rowdy as the party that they attended in the City of Angels. 

Nothing could have compared to the night that they had there. 

They had dressed up fancy for different events in the past, or at least - Connie had. From the dress code that was on the small invite, it was clear that they were going to have to dress in outfits that made them look a lot fancier than they were. Although, in this instance - it was all about professionalism. 

Connie would have been able to use the opportunity to speak to some people in the industry, the same with Max. Steven would have used the opportunity for what Philip had suggested - for a lovely evening with Connie. It would have been nice to have attended such an event together. 

He internally hoped he wouldn’t have seen anyone there that he didn’t want to see. It was unlikely people would have recognised him though and that was one blessing of being his mother’s son and not...his mother. 

Unless they were big alternative rock fans - they probably wouldn’t have recognised him at all. 

The signing in Philadelphia had been quick, which in a way was the best thing for them all. It gave them the rest of the day for shopping so that they could find the outfits that they needed. Outfits that they knew would have been appropriate for the occasion. 

"This isn't just graduation...this is a really big event! There's going to be loads of people there, we have to look professional!" Connie dragged her fingers through her hair as she spoke, completely stressed out with the idea that she was going to have to find some kind of dress wear that would have been suited to a black-tie event. 

"I can still wear Vans, right?" Steven cocked an eyebrow as he pointed down at his shoes, causing Max to burst out laughing at his attempt. Connie was never going to let that slide. He wasn’t going to have worn the shoes that little under a week ago she had been sick on.

"We're going shopping and we're going to get dress shoes. Everything." Connie narrowed her eyes as she breathed heavily, angry that they had left shopping the day before. The idea of Steven wearing the Vans that she had vomited on not so long ago infuriated her. There was no way they were going to a black-tie event together if he was going to wear them. 

Connie was going to have to find a dress, Steven was going to have to find some kind of suit and Max...it was a mystery as to what Max was going to wear! 

"Connie is incredibly fashionable, she's gotta have the best!" Max pointed her finger up in the air with a smile, winding up her best friend the best she could. Considering the circumstances, Max probably should have kept quiet. 

Although, that was asking the impossible. Max would have never stayed quiet. 

"You're going to look fantastic in whatever you wear, Connie." Steven commented as they walked through the shopping mall attempting to find somewhere to start their day-long hunt.

"Oh, here he goes." Max rolled her eyes with a sigh. 

"Thanks, Steven." Connie gripped onto his hand, hoping that by doing so she could calm herself down. Ignoring Max's comments was probably for the best. They would have only continued to frustrate her. 

“So, we’re going for the black-tie look, huh?” Max straightened her imaginary tie before looking over at them both. It would have been a long time with them all being rather indecisive. They knew it was important for them to have picked the right outfits. 

At least, it was important to Connie. She wanted to make sure that if people were speaking about her book that they would have noticed her. Noticed that she too was dressed in the correct attire for the event. 

What if people there asked her questions about her book? 

What if nobody even noticed who she was or why she was there? 

It was going to have been a large event...there was no reason why people should have been able to have picked her out of a crowd. She didn’t need to worry about it, but she knew she would anyway. It may have been something to do with the fact she had spent a lot of her day in front of the signing table making sure to sign each of the books that were put in front of her. 

A couple of people had asked for pictures with Steven. One person had even asked for a picture with both Max and Connie - that had been an interesting one. One that she was more than happy to do. 

“There’s going to be so many famous people there!” Connie chewed her bottom lip at the thought. 

“You know loads of famous people.” Steven countered, trying to make the event seem a lot less daunting than it was as they walked in a line together through the mall. 

“She means  _ famous famous _ people, not Star Destroyers.” Max pointed out. 

“Well…”

“There’s going to be people there in bowties!” Connie stressed as she once again pressed her hand against her temple. 

“I want to wear a bowtie!” Steven stated excitedly, thinking up his outfit in his mind. He would have loved to have worn a tuxedo. 

It was going to have been a lovely night with the love of his life regardless of what happened at the party. Did he want to make it so lovely that perhaps...he could propose? 

It would have been super romantic. They would have both been in amazing clothes, surrounded by amazing people inside of what they could have only imagined would have been an amazing venue. A mansion! It didn’t even have to be the centre of attention, but at least he could have popped the question there!

It was going to have been perfect and he knew it! Well, at the very least mediocre.

There was no way that it couldn’t have been the one place where he would have been able to pull it off. It was silly to think otherwise. He was determined for the perfect moment before the tour ended. 

He didn't need to though. He didn't need the perfect moment, he just needed Connie.

If it wasn’t tomorrow then he would have to wait until they were visiting her parents in Beach City, which in his opinion was a lot worse than doing it anywhere else. That would have been awkward...especially if they had to announce it in front of her parents. 

Was she already planning on telling her parents about the baby when she was going to visit or were they going to have held off on telling them? Steven knew that was a conversation that needed to be had, but not one that he was willing to have gotten into at that moment in time. 

Now - he was going to look for the best tuxedo money could buy! 

As they trailed through the mall they became more and more unsure about what they wanted to wear to the prestigious event. There was something about going that irked each of them in different ways. Although, it was going to have been a good opportunity for them to have bonded with a mass amount of other people that weren’t just there for the signing. 

At the end of the day, for the most part - it was going to be a good evening for them to have met up with new people and make the connections that they needed in the industry. Not that Steven needed any, considering his dad was the one who made all of those phone calls for him. 

“I like this one.” Connie pulled out a beautiful dress from the racking that she had spotted from afar. Steven stood beside her and studied what she had pulled out, it certainly was fancy. A beautifully long baby blue dress that frilled at the floor, a small sparky belt wrapped around the waist as the top crisscrossed at the straps. 

“That would look...nice.” Steven studied the dress. 

“You sound unsure.” Connie sighed, a little deflated at the thought. She didn’t want to pick out a dress that wasn't right. They had already been scaling through all of the items of clothing back and forth for the past hour. Connie couldn’t pick anything she remotely liked. 

“Thank fuck. We’ve been here for ages.” Max groaned, remembering how much she despised shopping. 

“It hasn’t been  _ that _ long.” Connie snapped back with a small titter. 

“Look, it’s been a long time. My feet are starting to hurt standing around all day. This mall will close before you pick one out that you like!” Max grumbled, she still hadn’t been to a store where she could pick out something that she wanted to wear. She wouldn’t have been seen dead in a dress. 

“I just said I liked this one.” Connie complained as she held up the dress. 

“So? Go and try it on! We need confirmation that this is the one that you like. It does look incredibly pretty and I think it would compliment you very well.” Max winked, wanting to speed up the process but also wanting to boost her friend’s confidence in herself. It was true, Connie would have looked fantastic in it. 

“Give me a chance!”

“Guys, come on...dresses are delicate things. They take time!” Steven glanced between both of them. 

“See, Steven’s got it.” Connie pointed towards her boyfriend as she gestured at Max. 

“Right. Go and try it on, Con Con - I’m desperate to see it!” Max urged as she tried to shoo her away into the dressing rooms. The sooner they got out of there the closer they would be to attending the coolest party around! 

"Okay, alright - fine. I'll try on the dress." Connie sighed, a little irritable that she would have been forced into it. It was a beautiful dress, she certainly couldn't deny that. She just wasn't sure if it was something that she would look beautiful in. 

Steven would have said she looked good regardless of what she was wearing, Max, on the other hand, would have been a little more blunt and honest. She would have looked more towards Max when it came down to overall opinions. At least she would have gotten the answers that she needed to fuel her confidence. 

"Go, go, go!" Max ushered her away, smiling at Steven in the process as she pushed her best friend into the dressing room. It would have been a long time before they got to the point where they would have been ready to show off the dress, Steven was just going to have to wait! 

"Okay!" Connie chuckled as Max pushed her in the back to get her to go somewhat faster. If Connie could have gone any faster she would have been running. 

Finally, the two best friends were practically locked inside the dressing room together, ready to show off the outfit. Connie was no stranger to her best friend seeing her half-clothed, which was something that Max still never really enjoyed for herself. The last thing she wanted was for Connie to see her underwear, despite it being incredibly kickass. Any kind of boxers was the way to go. 

Max was there for supportive purposes, which mostly included helping Connie with zips and holding the rest of her clothes when the hangers inside of the room were broken. In this case, they were. 

"Pretty cool we get to go to this party, huh?" Max asked as she stood to the side of the small room holding onto Connie's jeans. She was facing the wall but was happy to kick-start a conversation. 

"It's a little scary."

"Scary? I guess…"

"It seems like a lot of effort for something that's just...it's so…" 

"God help me if you're about to go onto another one of your rants, Con. I'll walk out of this room right now." Max took a deep breath. 

"I'm only trying to say that... it's a social hierarchy. It was the same in high school, it was the same in college and it's the same now. Fancy rich people in showbiz or not." Connie sighed as she struggled to pull the dress up. 

"We went to a few parties at college. They were fine, I wouldn't say that they were ever hindered by the bourgeoisie. Well...not directly." Max shrugged, continuing to stare at the wall. 

"That's not my point. It's just so frustrating that we have to meet all of these social standards for a party. Sure, it's supposed to be fancy - but why? Is this to show off that we're currently a higher class than the people who aren't in this sector of work?" Connie wiggled the dress up her body as she spoke, trying to make sure that it fitted well over her hips. 

"That baby is going to come out of you so bored that it'll wait until you stop talking to open its eyes." Max scoffed, as much as she couldn't help agree with what she believed her friend was trying to say - she had to be the one to lower the tone to a much more manageable point. 

Man, it was boring to hear Connie going on and on. At least Steven appreciated it. Max found entertainment in it when the time was right, otherwise, it was just noise in the back of her mind. 

"Do you not understand what I'm saying? It's like that party in L.A.-"

"Oh, you mean the one where you boned Steven?" 

"That's not-" Connie flustered. 

"It's cool. It's cool. The book doesn't say it - but I figured it out. Billionaires and their houses make you horny." Max chuckled, feeling proud of her joke. 

That was it. Connie wasn't going to sit there and listen to Max any longer. 

"No! Max!” Connie pressed her palm against her forehead as she attempted to stop herself from laughing. No matter how much her best friend loved to wind her up, Connie was always there to sit and listen to it all. It was entertaining for them both. For the most part. 

“Sorry, sorry! Can I look now? It’s taking you ages to get into that dress. Aren’t dresses just like...one big tube? What’s the hold-up?” Max grew impatient as she gripped a little tighter onto the jeans that she was holding for her friend. 

Connie adjusted the dress once more, happy with how it fitted. It felt different from how she had imagined it when it was on the rail and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was elegant and felt right in all of the most important places. If she had been brave enough to face her high school prom, this was the kind of dress that she would have gone in. Except, perhaps a little fancier than anything that she would have ever worn to a high school event. 

“Uh...I guess?” Connie was a little unsure in how she looked, moving the straps at the top around once more, pushing the straps of her bra into the dress as a way to hide them temporarily. It was the only way she was going to have been able to get the right feel and fit of what the dress was going to be like in the evening. 

“Are you sure? I’m pretty excited to see this. Do you look like a Disney princess?” Max excitedly covered her eyes.

“Disney princesses are unrealistic expl-”

“That’s it! I’m turning around!” Max interrupted, desperate to not have to hear yet another speech about something she was bothered about, but not enough to hear Connie yammer on about it. 

Max spun around on her heel and looked at her best friend standing in front of her in a pretty blue dress. Everything about it was perfect, from the colour to the way that it fitted excellently around Connie’s curves. Connie slowly took off her glasses, despite not entirely being able to see, it would have given off the illusion of what she would have looked like in the night with her contacts in. 

“Is it too much?” Connie sighed as she lifted the bottom on the dress slightly. It felt like too much. As if there was so much material that even if she wanted to move, she couldn’t. It wasn’t like a huge white wedding dress where there was so much at the bottom she couldn’t move, but it certainly had enough of the bottom to have been elegantly considered a ballroom dress. It was beautiful. 

“Woah...Connie…” Max’s jaw unhinged slightly at the sight. Although she had seen her friend in a lot of different outfits in the past, this one was so much better than anything else she had ever seen. 

“Too much?”

“Holy shit, I think I’m gay.” 

“Wait...I thought-”

“I’m not getting into logistics about this when the most beautiful woman in the entire world is standing right in front of me!” Max gasped as she looked up and down Connie with her mouth ajar. 

“No! Max, stop it!” Connie blushed, not believing a word that her best friend was saying. There was no way that she looked that good in the dress. 

Sure, after seeing herself briefly in the mirror she felt a kind of confidence in wearing it that she wasn’t sure that she had felt in another outfit before. It was nice to know that she could feel that way in the dress. It was a sure sign that perhaps that dress was the one that she needed to go for. The dress that would have been perfect for the evening. 

“Are you calling me a liar?” Max furrowed her eyebrows. 

“No-”

“You are the most beautiful woman in the entire world and that dress simply compliments that. If you show Steven this dress, it might  _ kill _ him.” Max took a deep breath, continuing to look at Connie in the gorgeous dress. It was everything. Perfect. 

“I don’t want to kill him.” Connie laughed, holding a section of the dress to try and get her footing. 

“You might not kill him, but you might have to give me a second whilst I go and stand behind him. I don’t want him to get knocked out cold by how god damn hot you look. Holy shit, woah - that dress is everything. You are so wonderful! Oh my god.” Max blinked rapidly, being knocked out of her gaze as Connie knocked her in the shoulder.

“Come on, really? Do you think it’s okay?” Connie pressed for a serious answer with a smile before turning around and readjusting the straps on her shoulder, watching Max in the corner of her eye through the reflection. 

“Dude, it’s so pretty! I don’t care if you haven’t tried any others on, you’ve got to get this one!” Max insisted, completely blown away by the outfit. There was no way that anything would have been able to top the dress that she had picked. 

Connie looked at herself in the mirror. It did fill her with the confidence that she wanted to feel. The kind of confidence that made her feel sexy and beautiful all at once. It was gorgeous and she couldn’t help but agree. There was nothing she wouldn’t have been able to do in the dress. It was perfect for everything. 

“I should probably show Steven…”

“That man is going to be mind blown. Just wait for it.” Max laughed, knowing that Steven would have completely melted at the sight of her in the dress. It was going to have been a hilarious sight to have said the least. 

“It is a nice dress.” Connie admitted. 

“It’s awesome and you look smoking, Chili Con-”

“Connie.” Connie cut Max off with a smirk. 

“You got it!” 

Connie was a little nervous to have shown Steven the dress. She knew that regardless of what she came out of the dressing room in, he would have been happy to have seen her. He would have been happier to have seen her in the dress. It would have blown his mind and she knew it. Although, she did love to do that to him, knowing that it would have broken him in a way. 

Outside of the dressing room, Steven was perusing the shop - specifically the baby sections. It was interesting for him to have looked at all of the different options for clothing for someone so small. They were going to grow out of them so quickly, it was bizarre to him! 

Either way, the clothes that were over there were adorable and there was no way he was going to have passed up the opportunity to have gotten something. Especially when he saw the tiny pair of Converse for infants, followed by a pair of tiny red Vans. He gasped, immediately picking them off the shelf and carrying them excitedly over to the dressing room. There was no way he was ever going to pass up the opportunity to have gotten something so great! He had to show Connie!

Just as he made his way back to the dressing room, he noticed someone stepping out from one of the large curtains. In fact, there were two people. Both of them he recognised. Max and Connie. 

“Guys, you’ll never guess what I- woah.” Steven couldn’t even finish his excitable sentence as he stopped dead in his tracks and saw Connie stood by the curtain in the gorgeous blue dress. 

“I’ll probably have my hair a little different, but what do you think?” Connie flicked her hair over her shoulder as she showed off the dress that she was wearing, happily accepting the dumbfounded expression on Steven’s face. 

“I...uh-”

“Look at his face, ugh love is so sick! It’s hilarious.” Max couldn’t help but laugh over Connie’s shoulder as she saw the look on Steven’s face. 

“Sooo, thoughts?” Connie questioned, twirling slightly in the dress. 

Steven held the tiny pair of Converse tightly as his bottom lip quivered, he couldn’t quite believe that he was lucky enough to have been her boyfriend. She was the most beautiful person that he had ever laid his eyes on and despite him saying that every single time that he saw her, whether that was verbally to her or internally - it still rang true. He really couldn’t believe how good she looked in the dress. 

“You’re so pretty.” Steven blinked, practically hugging the little shoes that he had found. 

“And….the dress?” Connie attempted to get an opinion out of him about the outfit, rather about how she looked. 

“It’s...you’re…”

“He’s a mess.” Max snorted, unable to control herself. Connie found it hilarious that Steven was practically unable to move as he looked at her. He had so many thoughts going through his mind and all of them were lovely. He loved her so much. He could have dropped down to his knee right then and there and proposed. 

“So, you like it?” 

“I like it. Yes. I like it, you, it’s uh- pretty. Pretty dress, yes.” Steven blubbered, trying his hardest to get his words out as he stared, unbelievably entranced by Connie. 

“Are you okay?” Connie laughed, seeing him the way he was making her worry. Although, it was also incredibly flattering to see the way that he had reacted to her revealing the outfit.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine! You look...really good!” Steven suddenly grinned as he looked over at Connie, breaking his trance. He was crazy about her. He couldn’t imagine what would happen on his wedding day if she was in a dress even half as good as that.

“Thank you, I really like this one.” Connie smiled down at the dress, it was one that made her feel good. There was no way that she wouldn’t have been able to get it after everyone’s reactions. They loved it just as much as she did if not, more. 

“Hey bro, what you got?” Max suddenly pointed over at Steven who was still holding on tightly to the little shoes that he had found. 

“Oh, these? Oh! They’re so cute, you have to see them!” Steven suddenly held out the baby-sized shoes in both versions that matched the shoes that they both wore. 

“Oh my god, Steven-” Connie put her hands to her mouth as she stared down at the tiny shoes, nobody was going to have been able to deny how cute they were. 

“They’re so tiny!” Max commented as she pointed at the little shoes in boxes in Steven’s hands. 

“They’re like our shoes - but small!” Steven was incredibly pleased with his find. 

“How do we choose which ones to get?” 

“Well, I was thinking we can get both. That way, the baby can choose when it’s here.” Steven shrugged. 

“Hey, daddy dingus - I don’t think a baby can choose the intense decision of Vans or Converse. That takes many years of consideration.” Max nodded, confused how the baby was going to have been able to distinguish what kind of emo they were going to have been already. 

“Well, it can decide whether or not it wants to be  _ mini Connie _ or  _ mini Steven _ , dependent on the day.” Steven shrugged. He was going to have brought both pairs, regardless of anyone’s opinions. They were too cute to pass up. 

“Oh, Steven.” Connie smiled, happy to have conformed to the cuteness that was Steven Universe. 

“So, we’re buying the dress and the shoes - perfect.” Max pointed to the items that they would have taken to the checkout. It was either that, or they would have been stuck inside of the store for a long time. It wouldn’t have given both Max or Steven a chance to have gotten the outfits that they needed. 

“These are adorable, Steven. I’m sure they’re going to love them both.” Connie took hold of the small boxes with the little shoes inside. They were truly some of the cutest things that Connie had ever seen. So cute!

“I can’t wait to get them their first  _ real _ pair of Converse or Vans. That way, they can come and see me play and fit right in with the crowd!” Steven smirked, unable to hide much of a smile. He was so excited by the thought of his kid being able to see him play on a stage. That would have been everything to him. 

“Dibs on teaching the kid to mosh!” Max raised her hand. 

“You’re not teaching my child to mosh.” Connie shook her head. 

“I was going to wait until they were about...like...six? Isn’t that a good age to start?” Max pondered on the thought, she had no idea how kids worked. All she knew was they were resilient and if she were to have thrown them in a pit when they were young, it would have toughened them up for the future. Max was going to have been this kids guide to the gigging world and she was happy to have been the teacher. 

“I was at shows at that age.” Steven shrugged, remembering all of the times he was up on the stage with his mother when he was younger. It probably wasn’t the best for a kid, but he had done it anyway. He turned out alright! Sort of...

“Let’s not get down on the details right now, we’ve got more clothes for us to get. You both need to find something!” Connie insisted as she passed the tiny shoes back to Steven. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll find something. Now, let’s get you out of that dress so that we can pay for that beast!” Max instructed as she pointed at the dress that was pretty much everywhere. It was a pretty intense dress, in terms of size - but was still manageable to walk around in. Nobody was going to have to walk behind her holding it up like a huge dress. It was manageable.

Steven stepped a little closer to Connie and kissed her on the lips.

“You look beautiful.” He whispered. 

“You’re not so bad looking yourself, Universe.” Connie winked as she tapped both of his shoulders before turning around and returning to the dressing room. 

Steven watched her disappear behind the curtain with nothing but love in his eyes. She was everything to him and more. Eventually, they all ended up at the checkout with the tiny shoes and the dress. Meaning that now that they had the outfit that Connie was going to wear, they would have to look for something for both Max and Steven.

Naturally, they both decided on going to a store that made suits. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much they could do in terms of getting something that would have been fitted considering they would have to buy it off the shelf and leave. However, they would have put a lot of effort into finding something as smart as possible. 

They made their way across the shopping mall to a fancy store that had lots of suits for sale. Steven was on the lookout for a bargain, but he didn’t mind spending a little bit of money now that he had it. What was the point in having money if he couldn’t spend it? This was money that he had earned himself, it wasn’t as if it was from his mother’s record sales. 

Max immediately knew what she was after. A tartan suit? Yes, please. It was going to have looked excellent and she knew it, especially when she came strutting out of the dressing room to show both Steven and Connie. Steven had been delegated to carry the shopping bags around and they sat proudly in front of him as they both waited for Max to come out. 

“What do you think?” Max questioned with a smug grin as she popped the collar of the suit slightly, showing off the outfit that she was proud of herself for. A white shirt, black tie and a fitted tartan suit jacket. She was going to have gotten some different accessories, but it was funny for them both to see the usual red beanie sitting on top of her head. 

“Amazing!” Steven grinned. 

“I love this! This is going to be so much better than graduation!” Connie giggled slightly at the thought. They had great outfits on after they had graduated, but this was going to have been so much better. These outfits made them look a million times better than what they wore when they went to the graduation party with their families. 

Steven certainly would have been able to clean up a lot more than he had done back when he had attended the graduation. 

“Dude, it fits so well!” Max stared down at the sleeves of the jacket, more than excited to have worn the outfit as she attempted to pick up as many contacts as possible. She looked great and even looked super professional too. It would have been a great evening. 

The best part about it was, her outfit was probably going to have been a lot different to everyone else’s. It would have still fitted the criteria, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t going to have stood out. That would have been good for Max, at least she would have been remembered as the person who wore a tartan suit to a black-tie event. 

“How can we both look so good?” Connie spoke rather modestly, although everything she was saying was the truth. They both looked fantastic in their outfits and for once, Connie wasn’t going to have let her low self-esteem tell her otherwise. 

“Now, we need to make sure that Steven doesn’t look that good so that he doesn’t overshadow us.” Max pointed at Steven with a wink. 

“Hey! I’ll never look as good as either of you, but I’m okay with that.” Steven shrugged. 

“Not true.” Connie poked him in the shoulder. 

“I agree with Connie. You're a good looking dude.” Max held out both of her hands and gestured towards Steven. 

Steven blushed, happy that both his girlfriend and one of his best friends were happy to have boosted his confidence. It was nice of them to have done so. Admittedly, he was a rather handsome man. He wasn’t quite what people would have considered a traditional kind of handsome, but he was adorable all in his own way. Beautiful on the inside and out. 

“Thank you, but...can we appreciate how good Max looks in that suit? I wish I could pull tartan off that well.” Steven smiled as he attempted to get as much of the attention off him as possible. This was Max’s time to shine.

“Thank you, bro.” Max smirked, simply pleased to have been in the presence of her two favourite people. She was so grateful for them both and the way that they had ultimately made her life continuously better. There was nothing that she ever would have been able to do to repay them. 

The most she could do was to have been there to support them whenever they needed. 

It was time for Steven to have tried to find a suit. It was going to have been difficult, although he wasn’t too fussy when it came to his choice of clothes. He mostly wore the same thing, despite probably being able to wear just about anything anyone suggested.

He would have looked great in casual clothes, a suit or even a dress if he wanted to. There was nothing that Steven could have worn that he wasn’t willing to at least try. He would have looked good regardless. 

Although, after much debate - Connie had managed to help him pick out a brand new pair of dress shoes that were incredibly smart and would have suited anything that he was planning on buying for the event. He was happy to have been invited, but it was more or less the dressing up that would have been the most fun. In fact, it would have been the idea of spending the evening with Connie that appealed to him the most. 

Steven eventually settled on a dark blue suit with a bowtie. Something that he had wanted to wear for a long time, but had never gotten the chance to do so. It was nice in a way, as he always considered himself more a bowtie guy than he ever would have considered himself someone who wore neckties. 

He had decided on complimenting the blue that Connie had on her dress. If they were going to have gone together, it would have been nice to have tried to have matched each other’s outfits. He had gone for a pale pink shirt and a pink bowtie, matching perfectly with the blue. 

It was only when he stepped out of the dressing room and saw both Connie and Max with their mouths open at the sight of him that he realised he had made the right choice. This was how Connie must have felt when he had sat and stared at her when she had come out of the dressing room. It was a nice feeling to have their eyes on him, knowing that they were admiring how good he looked in the outfit that he had chosen. 

“Steven! You look-” Max began, unable to find the correct words for the way she was feeling about the outfits. She had never seen either of them look that good before. It made her more and more excited for the fact that one day they would have been able to get married and she was excited to have seen what their outfits would have entailed. 

Connie immediately stood up. There was something about him that immediately made her want to kiss his lips. He was so...handsome. Perfect, even. 

From the way that the suit surprisingly fitted so well around his torso, to the small amount of stubble that was scruffily sticking out of his chin - he was everything that she wanted and more. She was so lucky to have someone like Steven as her boyfriend. She wouldn’t have changed him for the world. 

“Steven!” Connie nearly squealed at the sight of him. 

“Yes?” 

“You look amazing!” Connie couldn’t help herself as she stepped over towards Steven and threw her arms around him almost immediately. There was no way that she was going to have been able to stop herself when the only thing that she wanted to do was hug him. He truly did look wonderful and she was going to have been the first person to tell him exactly that. 

“Thank you!” Steven gasped as he felt Connie around his torso. He loved it when they hugged, it was a connection like no other that couldn’t have been matched by anything or anyone. Connie would have stayed there and hugged Steven all day if she could. 

Connie wanted to say more, but she knew that her actions would have spoken much louder than her words as she held him tightly. It was just a few days ago that they were arguing with one another about a mistake that she had made. His reaction hadn’t helped, but it certainly helped them show how much they loved one another. They just wished there was so much more they could have done to have prevented such a prolonged amount of time apart. 

“I’m digging the bowtie.” Max complimented, a little jealous that Steven had the bowtie. It suited him incredibly well though. She would never have wanted to have stolen his thunder in that respect. She respected Steven far too much to steal his style. 

“Thanks, Max.” Steven smiled over Connie’s shoulder as she gently let go of the hug and kept her hands on his arms. 

They were going to have looked perfect together when they entered the party. It was going to have been the best party that they had ever attended. In many different respects. 

Connie smirked at Steven as she looked at him directly in the eyes. She was going to have cried with how wonderful he looked, just as he had nearly done when she had appeared in the dress. She loved him too much to have thought of anything else other than how much she wanted to have been with him. 

“Get this one.” Connie instructed with passion in her voice. There was no way he should have considered any other options. This was the best outfit that he could have gotten. She had fallen madly in love with it. 

Or maybe she had fallen madly in love with the outfit when Steven was in it. Either way - she wanted him to have gotten the suit. 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You look great.” Connie complimented as she straightened the bowtie and kissed him on the cheek. 

He couldn’t help but smile at her words and the quick touch of her lips against his skin. He was so thankful for everything that she had done for him that even just at that moment he had once again fallen head over heels for her. She was everything to him. 

“Okay, in that case - I think I’ve found what I want to wear!” Steven grinned as he fiddled with the cuffs of his shirt underneath the jacket. He was more than ready to have attended the fancy party tomorrow in the evening. 

With everything that was going on at the party, if he had a nice enough evening it would have been the perfect night to have...proposed to Connie. 

Sure, it was something that he had thought about a lot. Although, this time they could have done anything from being on the dancefloor together when he decided to get down on one knee. Or maybe he would have gotten down on one knee in the corner of the room? Either way, they would have been in the beautiful outfits together and it would have been a great opportunity. 

At the very least, he wanted another attempt before they ended the tour. It was now or never. What did he have to lose? The advice that he had gotten from all of the people he had spoken to along the road had all been similar to one another. 

Connie loved him no matter what he decided to do. 

“Sweet, well, let’s just keep everything on hold until tomorrow. Need to try not to crease this shirt.” Max pointed to the shirt that the store assistant had folded up into a bag for her. 

“Agreed. Let’s go and buy this suit!” Connie poked Steven in the chest as he smiled at her response. He was happy that she was pleased with the suit that he had picked. It must have been good enough for her and everyone around. 

The best part about it was how the suit had made him feel. It made him feel...great. 

“Yeah, let’s get it!” Steven grinned once more as he played around with the sleeves. He was ready to have made the purchase. 

Without a second thought, they had walked away from the mall with something for everyone - even the baby. They were each incredibly happy with the purchases that they had made that day. 

For a start, each of them had made them feel and look amazing. That was one of the most important things about what they had done with their time - they had gotten what they had gone to the mall to get. Each of them was happy with how it had gone and pleased to have made quick decisions. 

The best part about it was how much they couldn’t have waited to see them all in the outfits the next evening along. Although, with how perfect that they had ended up being - the process of finding them didn’t seem as if they had put much effort into it at all. 

Either way, they were pleased with hope everything had gone that day - Connie had even been pleased with the signing. 

It finally looked as if everything was looking up. It was nice to have finally had some kind of positivity within their lives when everything so recently had been harsh on them. Things were only bound to have gotten better. 

Tomorrow, they would have been able to attend one of the most prestigious parties that they had ever been invited to. 


	15. New York City, NY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Connie go to New York. Something something...a big mansion. 
> 
> Oh, and Max is there too.

The signing in New York had been a little different to the rest of the signings that they had done throughout the country. It may have been the location or it may have been that it was starting to get to the end of the tour, but it felt as if a lot of the people who had come up to Connie and ask for a signature on their copy of the book were there to ask a lot of questions. 

Questions that Connie would have been able to answer. Questions that were directed to her and the writing process, rather than asking Steven about what guitar pedals he used and if he could post them online so that people could copy his setup. It was strange in a way, considering she had been so used to not hearing that kind of questioning throughout the other days on the tour. 

Although, that wasn’t a bad thing. It was good that people had finally started to take her book seriously and she loved all of the questions about the book itself and the writing process. This was what she had wanted when she had started the book tour. This was the reason why she had done it in the first place. 

People respected her and her writing and that had meant the world to her. That was all she wanted to hear from them - that the writing that she had put inside of a book were things that had an impact on someone when they had read it. That was incredibly important to her. 

Although, with the party being in the evening - they all had something that they were looking forward to. With all of their outfits back at the hotel, it was only a short amount of time that they had to go back from the signing to the hotel to have dinner, get ready and then make their way to one of the most prestigious parties that they would have ever had the honour to attend. 

After practically shovelling down some food in the lobby of the hotel, each of them made their way back to their hotel rooms to get ready. Steven had already felt a little guilty throughout the day as he waited outside of the public bathroom, Connie throwing her guts up on the inside. A part of him knew that he had done that to her. It was his fault that she was pregnant, which ultimately meant that it was his fault that she couldn’t stop vomiting. It was horrible. 

She didn't exactly have the appetite to eat much.

Even though that had been earlier on during the day, Steven had still felt the need to make sure he was asking if she was doing okay. That meant that no matter what, he would have the sheer confirmation that she would have been okay to have attended the party. 

“How are you feeling?” Steven asked as they stood together in the hotel room. 

“How do you mean?” Connie wasn’t quite sure what he was referring to, considering it was only moments ago that she had gotten out of the shower. It was his turn to have gone next. She stood in front of the mirror, drying her hair with a towel before she got onto the stage where she would have to dry it with the hairdryer. 

“Well, you were sick earlier. I didn’t know if you would still be okay to y’know...go.” Steven pointed to the door, referring to the party in a way that Connie hadn’t expected from him. 

“Steven, I’m sick pretty much every single day now. I’m...I think I’m trying to learn to live with it.” Connie didn’t know what else she could have done to help prevent the sickness. She had spent a little time Boogling how she could have helped herself, but nothing came up with definitive answers that weren’t just old tales that may not have worked. Nothing felt certain enough for her to have tried it as an option to escape from the sickness she was experiencing. 

“Oh. I mean...I just wanted to make sure you were okay with going.” 

“Why? Are you having second thoughts about going? We don’t have to if-” Connie turned around, consoling Steven on the subject. A part of her was a little curious to know if he wanted to have gone or not. 

Sure, it would have been an event with famous people - but a lot of them wouldn’t have known who Steven was without someone prompting them on the subject. There wasn’t going to have been anyone that he knew personally there, at least, he didn’t think he would. It didn’t feel like that kind of party. The thought still ran through Connie’s mind, an internalised thought that maybe Steven didn’t want to attend out of fear that he may have seen someone that he knew and not just from the television. 

“I want to go! We got fancy outfits for it!” Steven smiled, his concern was more based around the fact that he didn’t want Connie to go if she was going to have felt uncomfortable at the event. 

It wasn’t just about the baby, but it was also around the idea that she would have been surrounded by people in an industry that she didn’t quite favour. If she hadn’t liked the venue when they had attended the party in Los Angeles, then she probably wouldn’t have enjoyed all of the expensive decor at a black-tie event for a bunch of famous people. This party would have been different in so many ways. 

“We did - and they’re going to look great!” Connie chuckled, more than happy to have attended the party. She was happy to have dressed up and spent a night with Steven. 

She began to go back to the idea of their date nights. Despite most of them being Connie and Steven snuggled up on the couch together with a tub of ice cream, it would have been nice for them both to have dressed up and attended a fancy party. It would have been just as nice as going out for a fancy meal together if they had decided to have dressed up. The event was going to have been a perfect opportunity for them to have spent time together - even Philip Butler had said it himself!

“You’re going to look great!” Steven countered.

“Did you look at yourself in the mirror when you tried on that suit? You’re so handsome.” Connie smirked as she patted his chest. If he was standing right in front of her then she was going to have taken every opportunity to have touched him at that moment. She loved the idea of being close to him. Always.

“You’re so beautiful.” Steven leant forward and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. He could have happily have gone back and forth between compliments all night if they had the time. Unfortunately, they would have to attend the party at some point. 

Steven was pretty excited about the party for more than one reason. One of the reasons was that he was going to have made sure that he had the ring inside of his pocket and if the moment called for it, then he would have loved to have gotten down on one knee and proposed. A part of him thought about how nice it would have been to have gone on a walk afterwards throughout the city only to have dropped down on one knee whilst whistling through a dimly lit park - most of the illumination coming from the surrounding buildings in the city.

It would have been romantic. It would have been what Steven would have considered...perfect. Maybe. Something that he had been striving for a long time. 

It felt like a good idea.

“I need to go and get ready and you need a shower.” Connie instructed, she was more than happy to have spent the rest of their time together before the party exchanging compliments. It wouldn’t have been very productive and Max would have shouted at them for being late to the party. At least, late to meeting Max inside of the hotel lobby before they all piled into the Toober with their outfits on. 

They would have all looked so great together! All of them were excited. 

Steven nodded with determination as he walked off into the bathroom to make sure that he was ready for the event. He was hoping that when he came out of the bathroom that Connie would have been attempting to get ready for the event. Enough that she would have been dressing up in the beautiful blue dress that they had gotten. 

It didn’t take long for both of them to have been in a position where they were nearly ready for the party. Steven couldn’t quite believe he was seeing Connie once more in the dress that she had gotten the previous day. It was beautiful. Connie was happy to have seen Steven in the suit that he had purchased. 

Steven stood behind Connie and slowly did up the zip that was at the back of the dress. Connie turned around and began to play around with the bowtie that Steven was wearing, exchanging the favour. They both turned around and looked into the long mirror that was inside of the hotel room, Steven gently placed his hands on Connie’s hips and smiled. 

“We look great.” He grinned, pleased that they were both looking their best for the event. It wasn’t very often that they both dressed up. 

“We  _ do  _ look great.” Connie moved her hand up to his cheek before kissing him, her lips felt strange against his stubble. Despite going to the event, he hadn’t bothered to completely shave. Although, the rough look of his facial hair certainly kept to his personality as his hair was neatly styled.

Steven loved it when he saw them together. Seeing a reflection of themselves was so much better than there being any kind of picture. It was like...a picture in the moment and Steven loved it more than anything. Seeing them together made his heart skip a beat. 

“Ready to go dancing, m’lady?” Steven whispered. 

“Oh yes, I would love to, kind sir.” Connie giggled in a posh accent, happily playing along as she felt his lips press against her jawline. She gently swatted him away, knowing that if they spent any longer than they already had getting ready, Max would have been calling them repeatedly to get them to go downstairs. 

“At least, I hope there’s dancing.” Steven snorted, still a little unsure what the event would have entailed. All he knew so far was that there was going to have been a bunch of rich, famous people. That was all. Oh, and the fact that they had to dress up! Anything else that was going to have happened at the event was a mystery. 

“It’s not your kind of dancing though…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s not going to be a bunch of rich people in suits moshing.” Connie giggled at the thought, Steven resting his chin on her shoulder as he continued to hug her from behind. 

“Really? That’s disappointing, I was wondering if I could get away with wearing my Vans.”

“Nope! The dress shoes. You need to wear dress shoes.” Connie insisted. 

“I opted for the argyle socks. They match my bowtie.” Steven laughed as he lifted his leg, showing off the pink argyle socks. Connie tittered as she looked down at the socks, it would have been a shame that nobody but her would have been able to appreciate the effort that he had put in. Although, she knew that he was probably going to show them off to Max in the Toober. 

“They certainly do match!” Connie continued to laugh as he went and hugged her a little tighter. He felt so loving towards her. 

"Socks are the most important part of a gentleman's outfit!" 

"Oh, really?" 

"Maybe. I think I read that once. Either way, they are super cool socks!" Steven giggled with a shrug, continuing to rest his head on her shoulder. He kissed her on the cheek. 

Tonight was the night. If he wanted to propose, he was going to have to make sure it was throughout the party. There were so many times he had spent trying to put it off, but regardless of how things went - he wanted to marry the love of his life. He was going to have done anything and everything to make sure that the ring that he had gotten for her was on her finger by the end of the night. 

This was it. 

“Well, if it isn’t my favourite people. Connie and Steven. Steven and Connie. Oh and baby Star Destroyer!” Max winked as she saw them both walk towards her in the hotel lobby. Connie held onto her stomach at the thought, the small clutch that she was holding that matched her blue dress made its way to her torso. 

She would have gotten fed up with it by the end of the night, but at least she had somewhere to have put her phone. That was the most important thing. She always worried there could have been an emergency where someone may have needed to contact her, she always wanted to make sure that she was prepared. 

If her parents were ever to have contacted her, she didn't want to irritate them more by not answering. 

“Hello, Max.” Connie nodded, her best friend truly looked fantastic in the tartan suit that she had opted for. 

“Sick suit, Max!”

“Back at you, Steve-O. Look at you both, the fanciest couple this side of New York! I have no idea who is on the other side, but I know that’s something that people say for some reason. Either way, there’s probably a fancier couple over there somewhere.” Max pointed across the lobby. 

“I’m sure they wouldn’t look as good as we all look.” Connie scoffed. 

“Uhhh, they’re probably taking a limousine though. Our Toober is waiting outside - I think it might be a Prius. Whack.” Max gritted her teeth as she directed her point to the outside of the door. 

“Respectable choice.” Steven shrugged. It didn’t matter what they showed up to the party in, as long as they got to the party, it wasn’t a concern as to how they got there. Worst case scenario, they would park at the end of the street. 

Getting into the Toober had been a little bit of a struggle with Connie’s dress, but they eventually all made it into the car. Their journey mostly consisted of Max trying to make small talk with the Toober driver about music, but failing miserably. Steven sat in the back on his phone trying to figure out where this party was taking place, Connie held onto him but kept staring out of the window watching the city pass her by. 

It looked as if they were currently on their way to a famous mansion in Long Island. 

Surprisingly, the journey was a lot longer than they first thought - leading them to a gated community that the Toober driver had to ask for special permissions to enter. This mostly just included Steven’s name and a form of ID. Steven tucked his license back into his wallet as he pushed his wallet back into his pocket, noticing that he was carrying the ring.

Connie had gotten used to going to different events with fancy people who had too much money, but she had never gotten used to the gated communities that usually housed them. The houses within them were always incredibly large. Although, it seemed as if the house that they were going to was the largest one there. 

It didn’t seem as modern as the other houses and Connie quickly questioned how anyone could have possibly lived there. It was far too big. Huge, even. Connie would have never purchased a house that was far too big for whatever she needed, it was uneconomical and a waste of money. Although, these people never seemed to bother with the logistics on the matter. It was always down to the bigger the better. That wasn’t always the case, Connie was very happy with the home that she had with Steven.

It was small, but it was perfect for the two of them and that was all that mattered. 

The trio walked together up the pathway to the house, it felt as if it was a scene out of the Great Gatsby and Connie couldn’t help but mention it. They both had to agree on that matter, seeing as the house was bigger than any they had ever seen before. It had everything on the outside that was expected from someone with far too much money. Fountains. Whitestone. Decorative hedges. Marble. Perfectly trimmed grass. Fast cars. Everything. 

All leading up to the house with the balconies and huge columns. It certainly felt as if it was somewhere out of a period piece and everyone was dressed the part. 

Steven grinned at the security guard as he passed over the black business card that had the invite written in gold. The security guard stared down at the small card and nodded, taking note that the person in front of him was invited by the one and only Philip Butler. 

“Do you think they check everyone that comes through here? I could probably get away with being someone famous.” Max pouted as they all walked, ready to enter the huge door of the big building. 

“I’m sure they have a lot of security. Probably to prevent people from doing that. Although, if you said that you were a celebrity they could probably just Boogle what they looked like.” Connie shrugged, taking a look around the entranceway to the building. It was gorgeous. 

“So, I’m not going to get away with it if I tell them I’m Ellen? Or, uh...Colonel Sanders?” Max squinted, tapping her chin. 

"The chicken man?" Steven squinted. 

"N-no, that's Gus Fring." Max shook her head. 

"Who?" 

"It doesn't matter. He wouldn't want you to know anyway. So like...think I can pull it off?" Max queried, interested to know. 

“Uh...I’m not going to answer that one.” Connie chewed her bottom lip before completely ignoring everyone around her and taking in the sights. 

It was at this point she made sure to hold onto Steven’s hand, noticing how busy the inside was. There were a few faces that she immediately recognised. Funnily enough, they were people that she may have seen on television before. Perhaps a movie? It was strange to have seen them all in one place as if she was attending the Oscars. 

The entranceway to the mansion was prestigious and filled with all kinds of gold etchings in the stone archway through the door. Straight ahead was a huge fountain with two angels spewing water from their lips. Even better, there was a huge set of stairs straight ahead as if they were in some kind of Disney movie. It could have easily have been the same size or even bigger than the gyms that Connie had in high school. The windows to the sides of the room were long glass panels that were cut into several sections with metal partitions. Each of them curved at the top and squared at the bottom. 

“A drink for you, Madams, Sir?” A man in a fitted suit leant forward and offered a tray full of champagne flutes, gesturing for the party to have taken one each. 

Connie was a little unsure what to do, taking one of the glasses out of politeness and thanking them. Steven walked behind Connie, still holding her hand as he took one of the glasses. Max winked at the server as she walked past and took the flute. 

Connie turned around and let go of Steven’s hand before passing him the glass. 

“I might need you to drink this for me.” Connie furrowed her eyebrows, a little concerned that she would have looked rude if she didn’t take it from them. Steven took the glass and looked down at his now both full hands. 

“Wh- oh right...pregnant.” Steven thought for a moment before smiling over at her. He could never have forgotten the fact that he was going to have been a father, but at that moment the only thing he wanted to think about was how he was going to have been able to keep up with two drinks throughout the evening. 

“If you can’t handle the booze, I’ll be your dump truck disaster of a drain.” Max proudly pointed to her chest. 

“There were a lot of words in that sentence.” Steven chewed his bottom lip as he looked over at Max. 

“I’m just saying...I’m not going to pass up any opportunity that means I’m going to get free alcohol. I’ll help you out, Cone - no worries. Anyway, don't you guys say that thing to one another... _ Teetotal Team _ ?” Max shrugged before taking a swig of the champagne. 

"Oh, you mean 'Sober Squad'?" Steven raised his eyebrows, interested to know that Max had managed to get the phrase so wrong. 

"Ah, yes -  _ Sober Squad _ ." Max rolled her eyes, sure that she had gotten it right the first time. Her version was better anyway. 

"Currently in the Sober Squad for the next eight months." Connie sighed with a smile, it wasn't as if she cared. It wasn't like she drank very much anyway. 

"You do make a very good president of the Sober Squad." Steven confirmed. 

“Now we just have to figure out what we need to do here. Deep breaths.” Connie touched her stomach as she looked around the room, taking in a big breath to calm whatever anxieties she had about being inside the room. 

“Well, I hate to be a party pooper - but I’m totally here for connections. I have a pocketful of business cards and if I can’t fill my other pocket full of random rich people’s business cards in return then I have failed my evening task. I may have to dip and see you...tomorrow?” Max squinted at the thought, knowing that she probably would have stayed out a lot longer than the couple. 

“You’re just going to leave us?” Steven was a little worried that they would have lost Max amongst the vast amount of people inside of the mansion. 

“I have the hottest fit in this entire building - you’ll be able to find me if you need me. I also...own this really cool thing called a cellular de-” Max began her sarcasm for the evening. 

“Just call us if you need anything.” Connie spoke in a worried tone. 

“Oh no, she’s already in mom-mode! Quick, switch her back!” Max practically hopped behind Connie and attempted to flick an imaginary switch on her back. Steven laughed as he took a sip from one of the flutes, Connie tried to step back as a way to get Max to stop her pursuit of embarrassing her. 

“Hey! Come on!” Connie giggled as Max stopped her annoying behaviour with a quick wink. 

“Alright, okay! Stay safe out there, I love you guys.” Max blew a kiss to them both. Connie flicked it away as Steven pouted, realising that he wouldn’t have been able to catch it even if he wanted to. He knew that holding both of the flutes would have hindered him. 

“Bye, Max!” Steven wished he could have saved, lifting a drink instead. 

“You have enough money for bail if anything happens, right?” Connie smirked at Steven as they watched Max walk away into the crowd. 

“Uh, I may have to call my dad, but we’ll figure something out.” Steven grinned at the thought, as hilarious as it was - it was a possible scenario. 

Steven lifted his elbow so that Connie could hold onto his arm if she so desired. Thankfully, she accepted the offer, looping her arm around him as they walked a little further into the huge room. Steven had half expected a DJ to have been there, but instead, they were greeted by a small brass band in the corner of the room. It was a nice ambience and fitted the occasion. 

“Steven Universe? Is that...Connie Maheswaran?” A familiar sounding voice spoke from behind them, forcing them both to spin on their heels. 

They both turned around to see the one and only Philip Butler, wearing a black tuxedo, his grey hair slicked back, an unlit cigar between two of his fingers in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other. It seemed as if he was making his rounds for saying hello to each of the guests at the party. 

“Philip, thank you for the invite!” Steven wasn’t sure what else to say as the man went to shake his hand before realising that he couldn’t take his hands away from the flutes. Philip pouted slightly before leaning forward and planting a polite cheek to cheek kiss on Connie.

“No worries, how are you feeling, Connie? Better?” 

“Oh, yeah...better.” Connie was a little embarrassed about what had happened, to say the least. 

“You’ve listened to the podcast, right? It came out great!” 

“Oh, I...I haven’t actually had the chance.” Connie admitted. It wasn’t just that, it was also the sheer embarrassment that she had felt from being there. She didn’t want even more anxiety reminding her of the day she had completely embarrassed herself in front of Philip Butler. She could have been sick anywhere - why did it have to be on top of Steven’s shoes? 

“Makes sense, you’re a very busy woman! You should probably take a look at it though, the whole interview is blowing up! Top of the charts this week!” Philip held his whiskey glass a little higher with a smirk.

“Really?” Connie practically gasped. 

“Oh, yeah! One of my most popular shows in awhile. You have some interesting perspectives, Connie Maheswaran. People respect that and they’re curious to hear more. I know it’s a little hasty of me, but if you’re ever in the Bay Area again, I’d love to do a follow-up interview of what it was like for you to go on this tour! I know it’s not your first time touring, but it’s your first time touring with something that’s  _ all about you _ . There's a lot of shit in the world, Connie and you have the means to wade through it. This next generation needs your perspective, you might be the only voice they'll listen to when times are bad. Be the paddle up shit's creek. So...interview - I'd love to have you!" Philip pointed with a nod, speaking far more than what felt acceptable.

“Oh, I would...love to! Thank you.” Connie smiled, pleased to have heard someone so famous say something so kind about her and her work and...everything else. It was nice to know that someone was listening to what she had to say. By the sound of it, it was a lot of people who were listening to her views. 

“Excellent, well, contact my office whenever you’re around and we’ll get something arranged.” 

“Thank you.” 

“No problem, now, go and enjoy yourselves! There’s plenty of free scotch at the bar and if you’re up for it, there’s a dance later. I’m sure you two would be down for something like that! Very romantic!” Philip winked as he nudged Steven slightly. Steven felt a little uncomfortable in the man’s presence, seeing as the last time he was around him the man had shown him a rather unexpected video of his mom and the rest of the Gems.

“I do like dancing!” Steven grinned politely. 

“Excellent! Thanks for coming, I’ll see you around. Don’t tell my wife about the cigar, it was a gift from an old friend which I am now going to smoke and enjoy.” Philip winked before tapping Steven on the shoulder and walking off in the opposite direction to greet another group of people at the party. 

Steven turned back towards Connie with a shrug before taking a sip of the champagne. 

“You’re going to make me dance, now?” Connie cocked an eyebrow, trying to hide her smile as Steven took a drink.

“Only if you want to. It would be nice though, right?” Steven smirked. He thought back to all the times where he had danced with Connie together in their living room. To fast songs, to sad songs. So, whether they were jumping up and down to a fast song or holding one another close through a slow song, they had the dancing covered. 

“It would be nice.” Connie nodded in confirmation. It would have been nice to have lost themselves in one another for a little while in the middle of the room, surrounded by everyone else doing the same thing. It would have been...perfect. 

Steven didn’t quite know when he wanted to pop the question that evening. It had been something that was on his mind for a long time and it was getting to the point where he would have happily just...given the ring to her. He didn’t want that though, he wanted the proposal to be something special. It never would have been special if he had to fight his way through perfection first. If he didn’t propose tonight it would have just been another day where he didn't get to tell her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. 

The couple spent a lot of the evening speaking to one another as they watched the people around them. There were a few of the guests who recognised Steven - somehow and came to have a chat. Steven stood for most of the evening sipping on each of the champagne flutes that he had in each hand, occasionally passing a half-empty glass over to Connie to give off the illusion that she had politely been drinking. 

“Look at the lovely couple this evening, do you mind if I snap a few photos?” A photographer came to bother both Steven and Connie partway through the evening as they stood to the side of the room. 

Connie looked over at Steven and nodded. They had lots of lovely photos of them together, but nothing would have been able to match both of them in prestigious outfits. 

“Do you know when we’ll have access to the photos?” Connie suddenly questioned, a little too invested in the idea of having a photograph. 

“Uh, I work pretty quick and I’m getting quite the buck for this event...I can upload them digitally tonight. I don’t sleep much.” The photographer laughed with a slight blush. 

“Oh. So, we can buy digital versions?” Connie was a little too invested. 

“Yeah! They’ll be available on my website from tomorrow.” The photograph pulled out a business card and handed it to Steven. He glanced down and simply placed it in his pocket, hoping that he didn’t lose it. It seemed pretty important to Connie that she got the photographs. 

Connie turned to Steven with a slight whisper. 

“This is great! If we get a nice photograph we can give it to my parents when we visit! It would be good for them to keep it too, we might even get a place on the wall!” Connie spoke in an excited tone, happy to know that if they went above and beyond for a photograph that her parents probably would have put it in their house. They were always asking for ‘nice’ photos of Connie, this probably would have counted as nice. 

“We do look pretty good!” Steven grinned, more than happy to have taken a photograph with his girlfriend. 

Giving it to her parents may have been tough. She was sure that they avoided every image she sent of her and Steven together. Either that or they cut him out...

“Okay! Shoot away, mister photographer!” Connie spoke excitedly as she pointed towards the man holding the huge camera. Steven couldn’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

The photographer took a step back with a smile, getting into position as he lifted the camera to his face. Steven snaked his hand around Connie’s waist and pulled her in tighter, smiling happily to have just been in the presence of the person he loved. The photographer began to snap the pictures, Steven being cheeky enough to turn his head towards Connie and hope that she did the same. Unsurprisingly, she did - allowing him to kiss her for one of the photos. 

“Excellent! You two are adorable and look amazing! Check the website out and you’ll be able to see those photos soon. I also sell prints!” The photographer grinned, knowing for well that for a digital copy he was going to charge an excessive amount that people would have paid regardless. Worth every moment of his time. 

“Brilliant. Thank you!” Connie waved with excitement as he left to continue with his job for the rest of the evening. 

Connie hoped that the photos that he had taken would have been worth it. She was slacking on the front of sending her parents photographs of what she was up to and she knew that they would have been on her case about it, considering the last time she had visited she got an earful. All they wanted to do was to see what their daughter was up to now that she was leading an independent life away from them. Was it so much to ask for a photo to make sure that her rockstar boyfriend hadn’t caused her to become an addict or convinced her to get face tattoos? They just needed that confirmation. 

The evening went on and not once did the couple run back into Max. They didn’t need to know where she had gotten to, she was probably doing something that they didn’t want to know about. It was weird of her not to have shown up though, especially considering there was free booze on offer. 

She was around somewhere. Little did they know she was hanging out back and smoking a cigar with a business exec of a television studio. She had to muscle her way in somehow. Getting her name out there was important and she wasn’t going to do it by sitting inside of the fancy party necking back fancy champagne. That would have been a task for later…

“Everyone is dancing…” Connie commented, feeling a little out of place as they stood off to the side. It wasn’t as if she particularly wanted to go up and dance, but she couldn’t help but feel a little left out amongst the commotion. 

Dancing in front of people was terrifying, but being with Steven would have always made that experience a little less daunting. 

“Do you want to dance too?” Steven questioned with a cock of his eyebrow, curious to know if that was something that Connie would have wanted. It wasn’t as if the dancing that they were doing was ‘special’ in any way, it was mostly just couples swaying back and forth to the melody of the song. 

“Well...it’s a little different from being in our living room.” Connie tittered as she glanced away, her hand still wrapped tightly around Steven. Of course, being in a room with all of those people and dancing was a lot different from the two of them waltzing around the coffee table in the comfort of their own home. 

“I’m here. We can dance together and just pretend it’s our living room.” Steven smirked, happy to have helped her confidence.

“I mean, we could…”

“Will you dance with me?” Steven asked as he continued to keep her close. The smooth melodic tones of the stringed instruments echoing through the hall’s acoustics. There were now plenty of couples that had made their way to the middle of the room to be together. 

Connie flustered slightly at the question, it wasn’t as if she ever doubted that he was going to have asked at some point throughout the evening. Although, the way that he had been so softly spoken, holding out his hand for her to grip onto if she so desired. Connie reached out and gripped onto his hand, feeling the warmth that it brought her.

He pulled her forward towards his chest, backing up slightly so that they were in the vicinity of the rest of the dancers. Suddenly surrounded by a lot of people, they were finally free to concentrate on nothing but themselves amongst the music. Steven looped his hand around her waist as she reached up under his arm and gripped onto his shoulder. They kept as close as they could as they made sure to thread the fingers of their spare hand together. 

Steven closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, immediately being met by the smell of Connie’s perfume. He could have quite happily swayed back and forth with Connie all evening. 

“This is nice...” Connie spoke softly as the music steadied, the two of them making sure to keep as close as possible. Steven moved his head so that he could see her, pushing their foreheads together sweetly as his feet moved in such a way to cause them to sway on the spot.

“I’m just happy to be with you.” Steven whispered with a smile, closing his eyes as he touched her nose with his. There was no space between them. 

“Maybe we should dance more…”

“Oh, yeah?” 

“I think...it’s just nice to be together. Just us against the world.” Connie smiled, gripping onto him a little tighter as they danced. After everything that they had been through together on the book tour, they certainly deserved a break to have been together. If anything, they needed it. 

"In a dance battle with the world?" Steven snorted followed by a wide smile. 

"Something like that." Connie laughed. 

Steven kept their foreheads together as he went in for a slow kiss, nothing that would have gotten them in trouble at the event, but something that was sweet enough for everyone else in the room to know that they were madly in love. Connie accepted the kiss that tasted faintly of champagne, slowly pulling out of it with a smile. 

“I love you.” Steven practically whispered the words against her lips, causing her to shiver at the message. She had so much adoration for him in her heart. 

“I love you too.” Connie matched his tone as she removed herself from him ever so slightly so that she could make eye contact with the man she loved. 

She watched a small smile crawl up his lips at the sight of her, something that she always melted at the thought of. Steven was head over heels about her. If he had enough confidence he would have gotten down on one knee right there and then pulled out the ring. 

This. This was perfect. 

Everything that they had desired, built into one evening of love. It was exactly what both of them had needed after their time on tour and how unpredictable it had all been. It was nice for them to have gotten the opportunity to have taken a step back and appreciated what was around them, rather than being so caught up in everything else. 

Dancing with Connie was wonderful and at that moment it felt as if the only two people in the room were them. A simplistic way of thinking, but one that they were used to. One that they always desired more than anything else. One that they really could learn to love. One that they had already decided they loved beyond comparison. 

The party continued to have been huge, a lot of the people in tuxedos and dresses got progressively intoxicated as the night went on. Luckily, Steven hadn’t had to neck as many of the flutes as he had thought and was thankful for it. Being drunk on a night so wonderful probably wouldn’t have been the best idea, he wanted to make sure he was in the moment with Connie the whole time. 

After a while, the two of them found themselves heading outside to get away from the party for a while. It was getting late and being able to escape from the crowded room would have only served as a favour to themselves. 

Connie's slightly heeled shoes were beginning to hurt, suddenly regretting wearing them for the evening. She appreciated the opportunity to sit down.

They sat beside one another on the edge of the flowerbed, overlooking the large garden with the vast amount of decor. It was something that neither of them had quite seen before, being as fancy as it was. The only light that illuminated them both was flooding through the huge glass window behind them, that was partially covered by greenery and the various fountains that were lit up around the property. It lit up their backs as they sat together, attempting to get some air after being stuck in the stuffy party for a little too long. 

Neither of them was sure if they were allowed to have been outside where they were, but it didn’t seem to matter to either of them. They were just happy to have gotten some air and to have the ability to have escaped from all of the commotion inside. 

Steven felt Connie tracing circles around the top of his hand as he held it out for her to hold if she so desired, both of them looking up at the night sky and taking in the moment with everything it had. The evening had been wonderful, Philip Butler had been right about it being a nice night with Connie. As a matter of fact...it had been perfect. 

So perfect that Steven couldn’t have denied himself any longer. So perfect that he wasn’t ever going to have gotten another opportunity like it. So perfect that if he was going to have bottled it now, it would have been a waste of an evening. He needed to speak to Connie. 

“It’s a nice night.” Steven looked up at the stars before turning to face Connie, still feeling her cradling his hand. She was infatuated by him that night, unable to remove herself from his presence. 

“It’s been amazing.” Connie smirked, hoping that Steven knew exactly how thankful she was for the evening that they had. Everything from dressing up to dancing together, she wouldn’t have been able to think of a better evening. 

As the end of the tour loomed closer, days like the one that they had just had were important. Considering a lot of the tour had been spent in a pit of anxiety and dread, having nights like the one in Long Island were exactly what they needed. They deserved it. 

Connie placed her head on Steven’s shoulder, causing him to blush at the gesture. He gently chewed his lip to stop himself from grinning like an idiot. She loved him. She loved him so much and he could feel it. He knew it. He felt it. Steven Universe felt...loved. 

It never used to be like this. Not before Connie. Never. 

“Hey, Connie?” Steven asked as he looked up at the sky, feeling Connie readjust herself on his shoulder. 

“Yeah?”

“Can I...speak to you about something?” Steven moved his head to focus his attention on Connie. She lifted her head, continuing to hold onto his hand. 

“What is it?” Connie was a little concerned, worried that he may have said something that would have broken up the great night that they were having. All she wanted was this one night to have been...perfect. 

They both did.

“Are you scared? About the baby?” He questioned. 

“Yeah, I am. A lot. Are you?” 

“Yeah...but I get scared about a lot of things.” Steven chuckled, causing Connie to smile. 

“Things are always changing, but I think that’s okay. We make a pretty good team and I’m sure we’ll make pretty good parents too.” Connie bumped his shoulder, confident in her words. Despite how nervous she was in regards to the baby, she was happy to admit how much she truly wanted to start a family with Steven. It was something that she hadn’t thought about much, but it was something that had crossed her mind many times in the past. 

Ever since she found out she was pregnant, it felt like the only thing that she ever really thought about. 

Steven gripped onto her hand and used his thumb to brush against her, a sure connection for her to know that he was there with her. In that moment and until the end of time. 

“I know that I say it a lot...but I’m really glad that I met you at my show. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” Steven shook his head as he looked down, thinking back on the sweet memory. 

“You should have seen Max’s face when I told her I was speaking to the frontman of the band we were there to see.” Connie snorted at the thought. 

“We met here, in New York. I was...dumb. Really dumb." Steven laughed about his past self. 

“What? No, you weren’t.”

“I was...so scared you wouldn’t like me, Connie. You were the first person who saw me for me and not... _ Steven Universe _ .” Steven looked sadly down at both of their intertwined hands as he spoke his name in a tone of mockery. 

“And I’m glad I got to know you. You’re so sweet, Steven. I don’t know why anyone would have ever denied you that. But selfishly...I'm glad I got you all to myself.” Connie smiled sweetly at him, pleased that she was the one who got to spend her time with Steven. It was at everyone else’s loss. 

“I never want to be without you.” Steven chewed the inside of his mouth as he looked over at Connie, her expression lighting up at the sound of his words. Everything that he was saying was unbearably sweet, but she was up to hear plenty more. 

“Me neither.” Connie shook her head. 

Steven took a deep breath, if he wanted to make his move he was going to have to do it now. There was no better moment that either of them would have ever been caught up in. He hoped that they had both turned their phones on silent. There was nobody around to bother them as he looked down at their hands and smiled. 

“I...love everything about you. I love how smart you are, how pretty you are and how much you care about other people. I love listening to you when you talk about things you’re passionate about. I love it when you push your glasses up your nose. I love it when you laugh, especially when it’s because of something silly I’ve said. I love it when you smile at me, enough not to show teeth, but enough that you get those slight dimples that are really cute. I love it when you fall asleep in front of the television and I have to carry you to bed. I love it when you let me tuck your hair behind your ear or when you let me brush it for you. I love when you hold my hand and remind me that you love me too because...I need that. I need you. I love you.” Steven scratched the back of his neck as he spoke, nervous about saying the words that came from the bottom of his heart. 

Connie reached up and wiped her eyes with one hand, a huge smile on her face. 

“Steven...that’s so sweet. I love you too.” Connie could barely contain her emotions, completely blown away by the romantic words that her boyfriend had just spoken. 

“I want to be able to kiss you goodnight every night. I want to wake up with you beside me every morning. I want to spend the day with you, doing the things that we love - together. I want to fall asleep together watching silly movies or reading books. I want us to raise a baby together! I want us to be together...forever.” Steven blushed at his words, turning on the edge of the flowerbed to make sure that he was facing Connie completely as he gripped onto her other hand. 

Connie wasn’t quite sure where all of these kind words were coming from, but she was happy to have sat there and listened with her mouth slightly ajar. She was completely in love with him as she watched him and listened to what he had to say, words that were so sweet that her eyes couldn’t help but water.

“I tried a lot. I tried a lot to make this special...but nothing was right.” Steven chuckled to himself at the thought of all his failed attempts at love. His failed attempts at trying to present her with a ring. 

“This...this is special.” Connie smiled at him, unsure what he was referring to.

“But, I  _ tried _ so many times. I want the best for you, Connie. I tried a lot on this tour trying to be the man you would want to be with. I messed it up a few times and I'm sorry for that, I didn't want you to think I was doing it just because of that or because we're having a baby together. It’s just...I spoke to a lot of people about it because I was so unsure and they all said the same thing. It kind of made me realise that it wasn’t just about this moment, it’s about a whole lifetime of moments. What we have now and what we’ll have in the future.” Steven grinned, standing up and pulling Connie up with him. She stood in front of him, curious to know what he was going to do. 

“Steven, what are you doing?” Connie was flustered by his words, unsure why he had forced her to her feet. 

“I love you, Connie Maheswaran. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Which is why I wanted to ask-” Steven stopped himself from talking as he let go of her hands, took a step back and reached into his jacket pocket, sticking his tongue out slightly as he dug around to grab the ring. Connie giggled at his usual silliness as her face dropped in shock at the sight of the small black box. She watched with wide eyes as Steven dropped to one knee and pulled the small box apart, presenting her with a beautiful silver ring. “Connie, will you marry me?”

Connie’s eyes began to well at the sight of the ring and Steven’s hopeful expression. She covered her mouth with her hand to try and stop herself from crying, but it didn’t work. The tears began to drip down either side of her face as she nodded, completely speechless. 

Steven stood up, immediately wanting to console her as soon as he saw her cry. The only confirmation he needed was the nod as she struggled with her words. He had never seen her cry like that before, his own eyes beginning to tear when he saw her. 

“I-is that...a yes?” Steven gently placed his hands on either side of her arms, trying not to drop the little box. 

“Yes. It’s a yes.” Connie nodded her head once more, nearly choking on her words as she spoke. 

She lifted both her hands to either side of Steven’s face and pulled him in for a kiss. Steven placed his arms around her waist as he took a step closer and furthered the kiss, their lips never breaking apart under the light coming from the back of the mansion. They smiled on each other’s lips, so unbelievably happy. Nothing would have been able to remove them from the emotions that they were feeling. 

Connie hugged him tightly, burying herself into the crook of his neck as he did the same to her. They laughed together at the thought. A proposal. Steven had proposed. Better yet, Connie had said yes!

Steven let go of the hug so that he could get a better look at Connie, desperately wanting to look at her. He reached for her hand, as she held it steadily in front of her, Steven picked the ring out of the box and snapped it shut. He placed it in his pocket before softly holding up her hand and placing the ring on her finger. It was just the right size. 

Connie inspected the ring. There wasn’t much to it. No big jewels or anything fancy, but it was exactly what Connie would have loved. She did love it. It was perfect and she couldn’t have thanked Steven enough for the gesture. 

“Steven...it’s...beautiful.” Connie spoke between sniffs, overwhelmed with the amount of love that he was showing her that night. 

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it.” 

“I guess...that’s it? We’re engaged?” Steven chuckled, his cheeks turning a shade of red at the thought. Had it been...that easy? Perhaps it wasn’t as fancy as he had originally hoped, but as everyone that he spoke to had mentioned - she was going to have loved him no matter when he popped the question. 

“We’re engaged.” Connie confirmed, pulling him in for another hug. Steven held her tightly, never wanting to let go of the perfect moment of them together. 

They stood there for a moment, together. That was all they wanted to do. Be together. Forever. It didn’t matter where. Just together. 

“I love you so much.” Steven whispered on her skin, repeating the same words that he had spoken so many times throughout the evening. He couldn’t stop saying it and he knew that no matter how many times he did say it - it wasn’t going to lose meaning. Connie knew how much he loved her. 

“You really like that wall in Austin, don’t you?” Connie giggled as she felt his rough stubble against her neck. He brushed his cheek against her before kissing her lips quickly. 

“You could say that...or, I just really love you.” Steven shrugged. 

“Probably a little bit of both.” Connie shrugged with a smirk. 

“Yeah, that sounds right.” Steven was about to speak again before being cut off by Connie’s lips, this time sticking around for a little longer as they stood in the garden of the mansion alone together. 

Connie held onto his back, brushing her thumb against the ring on her finger as she kissed him passionately under the stars. It was sweet. An unbreakable bond that nobody would have been able to match. 

They were engaged. 

Connie reached up to the back of his head, pushing her fingers through some of his curls as they kissed. Steven slowly unlatched their lips and kept their foreheads together as he pulled her even closer than before. 

“Want to go back to the hotel and talk about what kind of cake we want at our wedding?” Steven smiled widely at the thought. Sure, cake was pretty important - but he was thinking about how much he wanted to go back to the hotel to cuddle up with the love of his life for the rest of the evening. 

“That does sound like a very important discussion…” Connie laughed, knowing how ridiculous the idea was. 

“Let me call a Toober and then we can talk about cake.” Steven winked before kissing her on the nose and pulling his phone out of his pocket whilst taking a step back. The sooner he put the request in the app, the sooner they would have been able to get out of the party to be alone. 

Connie watched as Steven typed something into his phone, she looked down at her ring and smiled sweetly. She had so many emotions running through her mind that it was hard to concentrate on anything that wasn’t the ring around her finger. The sooner that they left the party - the better. 

Max would have caught up with them in the morning and Connie couldn’t wait to show off the ring that Steven had gotten her. A part of her was curious to know if Max knew this was something he had been planning. Something that he had consulted Max about. She knew that the latter was likely. He wouldn’t have been able to do anything without consulting all of the people around him on whether or not it was going to have been a good idea. 

It was a fantastic idea. 

The couple couldn’t get enough of one another as they walked down the huge driveway to escape the gated mansion. They walked hand in hand, Connie holding the small clutch close as she allowed Steven to hold her hand that the ring was on, allowing him to feel it around her finger. 

As they stood together at the end of the driveway late at night, Steven took his tuxedo jacket off and gently placed it over Connie’s shoulder, noticing how chilly it was getting outside. She greatly appreciated the gesture, allowing him to hold her in a hug as they waited for the Toober. Neither of them had much to say, other than the occasional kiss and lots of exchanged smiles. 

When the Toober finally showed up, both of them clambering into the back. Connie made sure to shuffle up as close to Steven as she possibly could, even if she had to sit in the middle of the car. It was a little difficult in the dress, but she was willing to have done anything to make sure that she was close to Steven. 

If the Toober driver looked in their rearview mirror all he would have been able to see would have been the young couple completely infatuated by one another. Their fingers together and Connie’s head resting on his shoulder. If there was something that could have been said about them, it would have been that they were madly in love. That assumption would have been correct. 

Connie stared down at the ring as she held her hand out for Steven to study along with her. It fitted so well around her finger and was exactly how she had imagined it if she had ever thought about engagement rings. He had truly knocked it out of the park for both how much she loved it and the effort that he had put in. 

She knew that it had taken him a lot to have said all of those things and if what he had mentioned was correct - he had been trying to pull it off for a long time. He wanted it to have been perfect and the gesture was kind enough in itself. 

“This has been a really good day.” Connie sighed, exhausted from the day that they had spent together. Sure, it had been one of the best days on the tour - the  _ best _ day on tour. Any tour. She had been proposed to. They were engaged and that called for a celebration. 

“It has…” Steven looked out of the window and noticed the passing city as he touched Connie’s fingertips, playing around with her fingers gently as a way for her to know that he was still there. Of course, she knew that - he just wanted to make sure they were connected at all times. Especially that evening. 

“Thank you for a wonderful evening.” Connie whispered, closing her eyes as she snuggled up against Steven - still in a mood to have been giggly. 

“Thank you for a wonderful...everything.” Steven chuckled, just happy to have been spending the rest of the evening with her. The rest of his life with her. He was going to have been spending the rest of his life with her and he was thrilled. This was all he ever wanted and more. Everything was perfect and exactly how he wanted it to be. 

Connie listened, pressing her head against his shoulder, shutting her eyes and trying her hardest not to nap. She could quite happily have fallen asleep, but that was the last thing she wanted to do. It was all about contentment and the way that she felt at that moment. There was so much happiness buzzing through her that it was hard to concentrate on another other than...being happy. 

That wasn’t a bad thing in the slightest. 

When the couple pulled up in the Toober to the outside of the hotel, Steven kissed her forehead a few times to get her to wake up from her small rest. She hadn’t fallen asleep, but she had closed her eyes for the remainder of the journey as she listened to Steven hum to the song that was playing quietly on the radio in the front of the car. 

Steven was the first to get out of the car, holding his hand out for Connie as she got out. She looked so beautiful in her dress, the jacket of his tuxedo draped around her shoulders. Steven straightened his bowtie as he held onto her hand, walking them both back into the hotel. 

The hotel that they had decided to stay in when they were in New York was huge and right in the middle of the city. It was pretty busy on the streets late at night, but as soon as they entered the lobby of the hotel they were greeted by employees and the receptionist who asked if they had a lovely evening or not. Connie shamelessly showed off her new ring, to which the receptionist was thrilled by. Steven couldn’t stop grinning at the sight, realising quite how happy she was with the question that she had answered. 

Yes, she wanted to marry him. Yes, she was proud of that.

“We’re on the sixth floor.” Connie reminded him as he pressed the button inside the elevator. 

“I know, I just...wanted to spend more time with you.” Steven laughed as the elevator doors closed in front of them. Connie continued to hold onto his arm, noticing the mirror that covered the entire wall of the elevator beside them. 

“In that case, you should have picked a higher number.” Connie teased as she turned him slightly so that they could see each other’s reflections in the mirror in front of them. 

“Should I press all the buttons?” Steven asked as he began to reach over, Connie grabbing ahold of his hand to stop him from doing anything stupid. 

“No, because then we’ll be in here all night. I know what it’s like to be stuck in an elevator - it’s not fun.” Connie shook her head, looking over at him once more. They were once again practically nose to nose, both of them more than tempted to push their lips together. 

“I wouldn’t mind being stuck with you.” Steven stared at her with loving intent in his eyes, flirtatious as usual. Irresistible, Connie made the first move of kissing him causing him to react. He pushed a little further into the kiss than she had expected, taking her by surprise. 

Although, she didn’t mind as the elevator doors opened and she quickly released her lips from his to check to see if she had any right to be embarrassed. Luckily, there was nobody there, allowing her to connect her lips against his once more as she stumbled backwards out of the elevator. She gripped onto the back of his shirt to stop herself from tripping on her long dress. 

Steven held her for a moment in the middle of the corridor, not even having waited until they got to their room to be on each other’s lips. Steven, being Steven decided that he would have taken matters into his own hands. Connie gasped in shock as Steven knelt slightly before standing up straight, sweeping Connie off her feet and holding her bridal style. 

“Steven? What are you doing!?” Connie suddenly giggled, holding on as tightly as she could around his neck so that he wouldn’t drop her. 

“I thought I could use the practice.” Steven grinned as he began to walk back towards the hotel room. 

“You know that carrying brides has a horrific- nevermind.” Connie cut herself off before ruining the moment. She would have once again told him about the disgusting history behind bridal carrying once she had gotten her lift to the room. At least then she wouldn’t have had to walk in the shoes that were currently hurting her feet after the evening. 

“Do you have the keycard?” Steven questioned, realising that he didn’t have any free hands as they approached the door. Connie trusted Steven to hold her up as she reached over into her clutch and pulled out the small card. 

Steven stood in front of the door as Connie reached downwards and pressed the card against the lock, buzzing them into the door. Connie pressed the handle down as Steven used his foot to kick open the door gently. As soon as they got into the room, Steven gently allowed Connie back onto her feet, causing them both to laugh at the little journey they had taken together. 

Steven pushed his back against the door as a way to close it as Connie kicked off her shoes and threw the clutch on the table. She immediately redirected her attention onto Steven, spending a short moment looking at one another, less than a couple of metres away. Connie stepped forward and didn’t hesitate in the slightest to push her lips against Steven as he stumbled back to the door. He caught his footing as he pushed back by leading her further into the room, keeping their lips together. 

Steven’s jacket that was hanging over Connie’s shoulder dropped to the floor as he ran his hands over her shoulder, making his way to the back of the dress. Connie tugged on the bowtie to undo it, her eyes closed as she allowed it to hang around his neck. Steven attempted multitasking as he kissed her, unzipping the back of her dress and trying his hardest to kick off his shoes all at once. 

After the day that they had together, it was no surprise that both of them wanted to end it with an unforgettable evening. 

Unlike the escapades of the beginning of their whirlwind romance, their sex life was nowhere near as active as it once was. They were both incredibly busy and usually enjoyed showing their love in other ways. Surprisingly, the last time they had sex was when they had been on tour. The middle of August. The day in which the baby that Connie was carrying was conceived. 

There was so much love in the air that night that it was difficult for them to keep their hands away from each other, slowly undressing in the middle of the hotel room. For Steven, making love was always such a special experience in comparison to just...sex. 

Steven held onto her hands as he watched her wiggle out of the dress, in complete shock with how beautiful she was. How lucky he was to have such an amazing girlfriend. 

Fiance. 

Connie was his fiance. 

Steven grinned as he kissed her again, completely caught up in the girl he loved more than anything else in the world. Connie held onto him in return as he gently pushed her onto the bed and held himself above her for just a moment so he could look into her eyes. She pulled him in for a kiss as he smiled.

Finally, all of Steven’s fears simply slipped away. Connie wanted to be with him just as long as he wanted to be with her. 

Forever. 


	16. Baltimore, MD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of last night, it's time to cool down.

“Hey.” Steven whispered as he laid beside Connie who was slowly waking from her slumber. Admittedly, he had been awake for a while - carefully admiring how beautiful she was when she slept. 

Connie stretched out slightly as she opened her eyes and saw the love of her life smiling in front of her. She readjusted the pillow so that she could see him better, lying as close to him as possible. 

“Hey.” She responded, feeling his hands on her lower back as he pulled her in closer. She didn’t mind the touch, in fact, she welcomed it. 

He gently shuffled forward and kissed her softly, again and again. He couldn’t begin to express how much love he had for her. He was so overfilled with happiness that she had said yes to him the previous night. 

They were engaged! 

Steven felt Connie’s warm hand travel to the side of his face as they kissed, he noticed the slight cold touch of the ring on her finger, causing him to smile on her lips. He pulled away slightly and opened his eyes, feeling her thumb rub against the top of his cheek. 

“Do you like your ring?” Steven placed his hand on top of hers and moved his fingers to find the silver band before tapping on the metal. 

“I  _ love _ my ring.”

“I love you.” Steven was quick to say it, knowing that it was cheesy to do so, but wanting to let her know regardless. He had already said it far too many times the night before, but Connie was happy to have heard it. She had never felt more in love with him than she did at that moment. 

“I love you too.” Connie whispered the same words that she had said over and over again. It was hard for her to express how grateful she was of Steven Universe being in her life. 

Steven slowly moved his hands down to her stomach, wanting to feel some kind of connection between him and the little human that was growing inside of her. He would have done anything to have met them now. He wanted to know what they were like. Who they were going to grow to be. Everything. 

“We’re going to be a family.” Steven’s voice cracked as he spoke, his eyes welling slightly at the thought. He was overcome with emotions. 

Connie placed her hands on top of his, making sure they were both holding onto her stomach. She chuckled at the thought, noticing that she too was crying as tears of happiness dripped onto their pillows. They began to laugh with one another, caught up in the moment of terrifying and lovable realisation. 

“We’re going to get married!” Connie added through her giggles, the emotion of the past two weeks coming crashing down. 

“Yeah! We’re going to get married!” Steven kissed her lips as they both laughed, incredibly caught up in their own emotions. There was no escape from the mess of tears and love they found themselves in. There was no desire to escape. Nothing that told them they had to. 

This was the moment they wanted to stay in. A moment they wanted to capture. 

They gently pulled away from the kisses, making sure to lie close to one another on the bed as they stared into each other’s eyes. Both of them were smiling widely, unable to think about anything other than the amount of love they had for the person in front of them. They were so in love. 

“You’ve really been planning that this whole time?” Connie spoke softly, wanting to ask him more about the proposal that he had planned. It was clear that after his stumble the night before, he had found the whole experience a little daunting. As much as he wanted to propose to her - it was a pretty terrifying thing. 

“A long time. I just...couldn’t find the perfect moment.” Steven pouted, wishing he had popped the question sooner. He didn’t want to do it too soon and he wanted the moment to have been perfect so badly that he had near enough lost sight of what he truly wanted. Everyone that he had spoken to was right about it. She would have said yes, no matter what. 

“I would have said yes no matter when you asked.” 

“That’s what everyone said.”

“Everyone?” Connie smirked, realising that he had probably spent a long time asking the opinions of others before asking her. It suddenly came to her attention that it was likely everyone that she was friends with knew about the proposal before her. It was Steven’s best shot at making sure things were going to have been as perfect as they could be. 

“Well, I had to make sure I was doing everything right.” Steven reached over and began to play with strands of her hair, brushing them out of her face and tucking them behind her ear. She was gorgeous. 

“It was perfect.” Connie smiled, shuffling herself closer and kissing him on the lips. They made sure to linger once more, desperate to keep themselves connected for as long as they possibly could. They were both so caught up with each other that it would have been hard to drag them away. 

Why did there have to be a signing? They could have easily stayed in bed with each other the entire day and not moved. That would have been the best option for them both. Having to get up and face the day would have been the worst. They had a train to catch and after having got engaged, the last thing they wanted to do was sit on a train together. At least it would have been better than a plane. 

Connie knew that it was nearly time for them to get ready and head out to meet with Max before they got on the train. Admittedly, Connie hadn’t seen her best friend since they were at the party and was incredibly excited for her to share the news. She couldn’t wait to tell Max about the engagement! 

Connie slowly got up, taking some of the covers with her to make sure she wasn’t exposing too much. She had never been shy around Steven, but she did want some level of privacy. Steven reached over so that he could touch the bottom of her back, not wanting her to leave. 

"Don't go." Steven pouted, Connie didn't want to turn around and see his sad expression - it would have only forced her to stay. 

"We've got to get ready else we'll never be at the station on time." Connie insisted, messing around with her hair enough to make it somewhat presentable on the way to the bathroom. 

Steven groaned into the pillow, still reaching out and trying his hardest to keep a connection between them both. He watched as she picked her underwear up off the floor and put it on before heading to the bathroom. Steven laid in the bed and smiled, placing his hands behind his head and thinking about just how perfect everything was. 

"Come on, you've got to get ready!" Connie insisted as she turned around with a joking scowl, encouraging him to get a move on. She didn't want them to be late in meeting Max, they were already running behind. 

"Fine!" Steven moaned with a smile, lazily throwing the covers away from himself before clambering out of the bed. He just wanted to spend five more minutes in bed with the love of his life. He couldn't wait for them to come home from the book tour and have a few days just lazing around the house. 

That morning, just like many other mornings before, they stood next to one another as they brushed their teeth. Sure, like many other mornings - it ended up in them kissing for a while. Steven was infatuated by her, perhaps more so than usual. She wanted to marry him. It meant everything. 

"Steven, come on!" Connie complained as she pushed him gently in the chest to try and get him to stop kissing her. She didn't want him to stop, but her need to keep to a schedule meant that she would have to put it on hold. 

"Okay, I'll stop. I just...I love you so much." Steven held onto her hips, half-dressed - unlike Connie who was nearly ready. 

"I love you too, but we do need to go." Connie reminded him with a pat on his shoulders and a kiss on his lips. 

"I'll grab my jacket." Steven smiled, slowly letting go of his fiancé and making his way back into the other room to pack away his things. 

After throwing their clothes on the floor the night before, they had a lot of picking up to do in the morning. Although they were a little unsure where to put the nice clothes they had bought and ended up shoving them into a suitcase together. They would have to visit a dry cleaner when they got home. 

Steven and Connie made sure everything was in their bags before getting ready to head out. 

"Have you got the ring?" Steven questioned, a little panicked that she might have left it behind. 

"It's yet to leave my finger." Connie confirmed as she held it up with a smirk. 

Steven nodded with confirmation as he held onto the handle of one of the suitcases and pulled to the end of the room, following Connie out of the door. They made their way down to the lobby of the hotel to meet Max, both Connie and Steven spent the trip down in the elevator refusing to unlock eye contact. They were desperate to be close. 

Connie was excited to tell Max.  _ Incredibly _ excited to tell Max! Perhaps that was the reason behind her wanting to meet with her so soon? 

It was. 

Sure, they had little time to waste when it came to them needing to get to the train, but that didn't mean that they had to leave  _ so _ soon. Connie just wanted her best friend to be in the loop with everything that had happened to her throughout the evening. She wished she had been able to see Max before them splitting off and was curious to know what she had done with her evening too. 

Connie could bet that it wouldn't have been anywhere as interesting as being proposed to. Then again, that wasn't something that Max would ever want. It would have been exciting either way. 

As they made their way into the lobby, they were met with Max who was sat on one of the chairs with her legs crossed over as she ate a granola bar. It wasn't the best thing for an empty stomach, but it was better than having to wait until the rest of her party came down to eat. 

"Max!" Connie practically shouted from the other side of the lobby, clearly excited to share the news, Steven was just as excited but it seemed as if his fiancé had beaten him to the shout.

Max looked up with half a granola bar hanging out the side of her mouth, she hadn't quite expected her two friends to have been there so soon. She was too busy flicking through social media and ordering new variants of vinyl records that she wanted. She swallowed hard so that she could react in shock to them coming closer. 

"Jeez, I heard you call my name with that much excitement since...well...damn, Con - you should be more excited to see me more often." Max pondered on the thought before turning all of her attention to Connie and Steven who was slowly trailing behind with the suitcases. 

"I have news!" Connie grinned as she held her hands behind her back playfully. 

"You're pregnant  _ again _ ?" 

"That's... _ Max _ !" Connie groaned with a chuckle, unable to hold it in for much longer as she continued to put up with her friend's behaviour. 

"Okay, what is it? You look like you're about to explode." Max sniggered as she put down her phone, sure that the two dorks in front of her were going to combust if she left them any longer. 

Steven came and stood behind Connie with a wide grin, excited for Max to have been the first person to hear about the news. He had to call his dad! He needed to tell his dad he had proposed and Connie had accepted! 

After they had told Max! 

Connie held her hand out in front of her and showed off the ring, pointing to it with a smile. She had never particularly been excited about that kind of thing before and yet...she was over the moon with joy! She was so pleased he had asked…

"Steven proposed to me!" 

Max immediately stood up with her arms wide, a wide smile on her face. There was nothing she wanted to hear more than the fact that Steven had finally gotten on with what he had wanted to do for a long time. She was so happy for them both! 

"Ahhhh! Congratulations my friends! Steen didn't bottle it this time!" Max gave Connie a quick hug before winking over her shoulder at Steven, holding out a clenched hand for a fist bump. Steven accepted the offer with a smirk. 

"I did it!" 

"About time!" Max groaned as she pulled out of the hug and took a step back, desperate for Connie to show her the ring. It was beautiful and everyone was excited to have seen it again. 

“Do you like it?” Connie couldn’t help but continue to press on about the ring. All she wanted to do was to share her happiness with Max. 

“Hell yeah, I like it! It suits you well.” Max nodded happily at Connie, pleased that her best friend was going to have been marrying the man of her dreams. “So, are you eventually going to be Connie Universe? That name sounds sick.” 

Connie stopped for a moment, she hadn’t thought of much beyond getting the ring. Of course, it was something that they would have to discuss. It wasn’t something that would have been decided on the spot. 

“We haven’t really gotten that far.” Connie chuckled nervously, looking over at Steven with a shrug. 

Frankly, Steven didn’t care what name Connie ended up with - the promise to have been together until the end of time was all he needed. She could have kept her name for all he cared, as long as she was happy and they were together. That was all that mattered to Steven. 

She could have been a Universe. She could have been a Demayo. She could have been a Maheswaran. It didn’t matter to Steven, as long as they were together. 

“Well, regardless of what name you take - I want to be there when it happens.” Max winked, referring to the wedding. Max already knew that she was going to have worn the fanciest suit she could find. Not only that, but like the previous night, she was probably going to have consumed a little too much alcohol. 

Her best friend’s wedding? Of course she was going to have gone out of her way to make sure that they had a great time. 

“I’ll be honest...I don’t really want to get married whilst I’m still pregnant.” Connie laughed, touching her stomach and looking over to Steven once more, hoping that she didn’t hurt his feelings with the comment. 

“All the more time to plan!” Steven grinned. As much as he wanted to have driven straight to a registry, he was also obsessed with the idea of being able to plan out the most perfect day. 

Although his idea of perfect hadn’t worked in the past - he was willing to put everything aside to make sure he could assure a great day. Even if they didn’t get married for years after the baby had been born, at least they had gotten that part of their life out of the way. At least then the baby could have attended the wedding with them! 

“Also, having your kid at the wedding out and about and not trapped inside of you would be hella cute. I get dibs on babysitting until it poops.” Max raised her hand with a smile, sure that she was going to love the baby nearly as much as their parents. Max certainly would have gone out of her way to have done everything for that kid and she knew that without even having met them. 

“It’s still a long way away, we’ll figure it out.” Connie assured, thinking that far into the future would have just forced her to spiral with anxiety. Today was a good day and she needed to keep that in her mind. Things were great! 

It didn’t help that she had anxiety about having to go and visit her parents tomorrow, knowing that she was going to have to hide a lot from them. There was no way that she was going to have been able to tell them about the baby! She may have been able to get away with telling them about the engagement though. 

Either way, they probably would have been disappointed in her somehow. 

“Are you okay if I go and call my dad?” Steven asked politely as he gently bumped Connie’s shoulder as a way to get her attention. 

“Of course!” 

“You’re going to leave me to swoon with my best bud about how she thinks you’re super adorable because she’s going to come and sit next to me and tell me all about the best night of her life - so far!” Max rapidly patted the section of the couch inside of the lobby next to her. Connie happily took her place beside her friend as Steven smiled, knowing that the conversation he was going to have with his dad was one that he wanted to surprise him with for a long time. 

His dad was going to have been so happy about it! Although, his dad was probably getting sick of all the phone calls across the tour that only served to cause him more worry. Steven pulled out his phone and walked over to the other side of the lobby to have the conversation without being rudely interrupted by the staff or anyone else that decided to make noise. 

“So, how did he do it? I’m intrigued.” Max clenched her fist and placed it on the bottom on her chin, ready to hear the story. 

“Well...he kind of just did it.” Connie chuckled. “One moment he was telling me how much he loved me and the next he was down on one knee.” 

“Classic Steven. Y’know...he’s been worried about that shit for  _ so long _ . Glad he did it, I was getting kind of sick listening to his crap.” Max groaned, happy that the saga of Steven’s proposal was finally over. 

“He said he tried a few times…” Connie felt a little guilty that she had been so oblivious. 

“Austin. He was pretty torn up about Austin.”

“He wanted to propose in  _ Austin _ ? Oh no.” Connie practically gasped at the thought. He had tried his hardest to make the day incredibly romantic and yet all he managed to do was fail at his attempt. Connie hadn’t even been in the right headspace that day, a part of her happy that he didn’t propose that day. 

“You got that phone call from Philly B. Seconds. Literal seconds away.” Max snorted, recalling what Steven had told her about the night. He had mentioned it a couple of times since, especially in passing. It felt as if Connie always got a phone call whenever something important was about to happen. 

Steven had gotten pretty frustrated with it. At least nobody had contacted her when they were together the previous night. 

“Oh...that makes me feel bad.” Connie stared down at the ring on her finger. Of course, it wasn’t her fault that Steven had so many failed attempts. A lot of them were completely out of her control. 9

How was she supposed to know that Philip Butler was going to have invited her to be on the show so last minute? It was a phone call that she had to take and one that she was sort of pleased that she had taken. Especially after hearing how well the podcast had been doing. 

“Don’t feel bad, Con - he’s just a perfectionist. Nothing was right for him.” Max shrugged, only telling the truth. Steven had found it pretty easy to have gotten to the point where he didn’t have to worry about her saying anything other than yes, that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to make it as perfect as possible. 

“Yeah, I know. He did it in the end though!” Connie held up her hand, happy to have continued to show off the ring. 

“He did! You’re going to get married, that’s so exciting and so  _ adult _ ! A baby? Marriage? Jeez, this is just like that song about people kissing in a tree.” Max laughed excitedly, more than happy to have watched her best friend becoming the person that she always wanted to be. 

“Y-yeah, you’re right. I didn’t really expect to be in this...position. It’s not what I thought would happen when I was younger.” Connie sighed, although she wasn’t doing anything that she imagined she would have been doing when she was a teenager, it’s not as if any of that was a bad thing. 

She loved being with Steven. She loved touring the country with him. She loved writing the book. She loved hanging out with Max. She loved the fact that she was going to have been making a family with the person she loved. 

Sure, it was different from what she had expected - but that wasn’t something that she was upset about. In fact, things had probably worked out for the better. Although, she hadn’t quite expected to be in such an altercation with her parents throughout all of the years that they had been at one another’s throats. 

“Hey, me neither. Although, I never really thought about all of the family life stuff. I mostly just thought about what it would have been like to be on Law and Order or something. The intro to that show was fun.” Max pondered on the thought, her mind immediately going somewhere else. 

“I don’t think I ever really thought about a family either, it was all just...school. A career.” 

“Look, at least you’re not like Dylan. Cheesy fingers and brain drowning in energy drinks.” Max pressed her finger against her temple, sorely unimpressed by her brother’s behaviour. She never would have been impressed by the way that he acted. He was just jealous of how successful all of his other siblings had become. 

“You’re so mean to your brother.” Connie laughed. 

“He deserves it, which reminds me - I need to subscribe and then unsubscribe to his channel so he gets excited and then disappointed. That way, it looks like someone was interested in his content, watched it and then realised how shit it was and dipped. It’s excellent and he has no idea it’s me, every time!” Max snorted as she pulled out her phone, completely distracted by how much of a dick she could be to her youngest brother. 

“Y’know...you’re a promoter - you could help him out.”

“I could, but I won’t. Anyway, speaking of social media - have you guys posted about this engagement yet? That shit would blow those book sales  _ up _ ! I’m not saying you have to as a friend, but as your trusty promoter I have every right to sway you to that decision.” Max nudged her slightly as she flicked through her phone to find Dylan’s terrible TubeTube channel. 

“Can we at least wait until I tell my parents tomorrow?” Connie gritted her teeth together. 

“Oh shit, you’re telling them?” Max looked up from her phone, surprised that Connie would have even considered telling her parents so soon. For Connie, that was usually the sort of thing that she would have kept hidden for a long time. 

“Well, it’s either that or the baby.” 

“Uhhh, one of them you can keep hidden forever and the other one...you’re going to start getting real chubby in a few weeks.” Max chewed on her bottom lip at the thought. She had already looked online for maternity gifts that she could have gotten for her best friend. Most of them were comedic. 

“I’m thinking the better option is to just visit them in eight months with a baby.” Connie sighed, she knew that wasn’t the best option - but at this point, this was all she wanted to do. It might have been the easier option. 

“That won’t go down well.” 

“I know, but it’s worth the shot.”

“I hope you're joking.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell them...eventually. Tomorrow probably isn’t the best time though.”

“You know...the longer you avoid it the worse it’s going to get. The same happened when you didn’t tell them about Steven.” Max decided to bring up the sore subject, it may have been the only way that Connie would have listened to what she had to say. 

“Ugh, don’t remind me. That was a nightmare. Can’t I just...have your dad instead?” Connie ran her fingers through her hair. 

“Look, if things are going the way I think they’re going - we’ll probably be sisters-in-law at some point. Dad’s been kind of close with Greg lately. It’s weird. But also...no, no, it’s strange. I have no words for it. The biggest benefit being the fact that Steven might one day be my brother, isn’t that cool?” Max laughed uncomfortably. 

“That’s...I’m actually a little speechless.” 

“Same.”

“Jeez. Anyway, regardless - things will be weird going to see my parents. Steven’s never been to Beach City before.” Connie looked across the lobby and noticed Steven with a huge smile on his face explaining everything to his dad down the phone. She smiled sweetly at him, noticing how excited he was to express how great the evening had been. 

“He’s never been to Beach City?” Max gasped, even though she had been to stay at the Maheswaran residence. 

“No...I always visit them on my own and then when he does meet up with my parents they usually come to Nashville to see us. I’ve never taken Steven home. It didn’t really feel as if we were...welcome.” Connie began to play with the ring around her finger as she thought about all of the things that her parents had mentioned about Steven in the past. 

Had he even consulted them about marrying her? She knew that it would have been a solid no. At the very least, he may have tried to make contact with her father - but even then she knew that his anxiety would have been far too high to even consider it. Steven was a traditional romantic, but when it came to her parents she knew that he probably would have stayed as far away as he possibly could. 

“Well, now is your chance. I’m staying in Baltimore for that show, it’s  _ Proper _ \- it would be a sin if I missed them play. Sorry I can’t be your usual comic relief and emotional support. You’ll have to text me though!” Max nudged Connie with a smile. 

It was strange of them to have a day off on the tour, but it meant that Connie would have been able to go and see her parents before their last location. It was a good place for them to stop and Connie wasn’t afraid of seeing her parents. Except, she was. She didn’t want to be seen as a disappointment to them once again. 

They would have asked her about the tour and the only thing that she could have given them was the fact that she had found out that she was pregnant and that Steven had been kind enough to have proposed to her. It wasn’t that either of them were bad things, but they wouldn’t have entirely been seen as positive things in her parent’s eyes. 

“It’s fine, it’ll be fine.” Connie assured herself. There were also plenty of positive things that had happened to her on the tour that she thought that her parents may have been proud of her for. For a start, she had been featured in a magazine and was on the Philip Butler show. Not only that, but she had attended an incredibly fancy party. That was something! 

Just as Connie had finished talking, Steven had stepped back over to Max and Connie with a smile on his face. The one thing that he wanted to do was to spend the day with his fiance now and that he knew she was going to be spending the rest of her life with him. It was wonderful. Steven would have loved to have just...started now. 

“Did you tell him?” Max perked out, focusing her attention on Steven who was grinning like an idiot with his phone in his hands. 

“Dad wants to speak to you.” Steven gestured to Connie with the phone in his hand. He joined her on the side of the couch, sitting as close to her as possible as he passed over the phone. 

Connie took the phone from his hand and placed it to her ear, happy to have heard Greg’s voice. It was nice of them to have been able to share these things with Greg when they felt as if they couldn’t share them with her parents. That was just the way that it was and how it always would have been. 

“Hey, Connie!” Greg spoke in an excited tone, she couldn’t wait to go back home and spend some time with Greg. Especially now it was certain that he was eventually going to be her father-in-law. Although she already treated him that way, an intense amount of respect for the man was something that she had held since she had first met him. 

“Hello, Mr.Universe!”

“Greg, you know it’s Greg!” Greg laughed, he found it amusing that Connie still felt the need for formalities. It was just the way that she was brought up and if that meant treating the people who were older than her with a lot of respect then that wasn’t such a bad thing. 

“Sorry, it's a habit.” Connie chuckled, happy that she could share that kind of awkward humour with Greg. It was something that she could have never done with her parents and she was incredibly grateful for him being in her life - for multiple reasons. 

“Anyway, I heard that Steven asked the question...what do you think?” Greg spoke happily down the phone. Connie realised that she was sandwiched between both Steven and Max, both of them trying to listen in on the conversation that she was having. It didn’t bother Connie, but they could have just asked. 

Connie glanced over at Steven with a smile. 

“I’m really happy.” Connie didn’t quite know what else to say. Of course she was happy! It had been one of the best evenings in her entire life! Why wouldn’t she have been happy? 

“I’d give you a proper welcome into the Demayo family, but you’ve been a part of it since you met Steven. It’s just...it’s nice to know that this will eventually make it  _ official _ and with the baby too. Jeez, you guys are going to have a busy year.” Greg couldn’t help but laugh at the thought. 

“Yeah, it all seems to have happened pretty quickly. It’s okay though, it’s exciting!” Connie admitted, noticing that Max and Steven were mouthing words at one another behind her as they leant back on the couch as Connie sat forward. She heard a sudden sound of a high-five and felt the need to turn around and check on what it was they were doing. 

“You know I’m always here if you need anything. I’m so happy for you both! We’ll have to throw some celebrations when you’re back home off tour.” 

“I would like that.” Connie smiled before scowling at Max who had been making faces for most of the phone call. 

“Good, now, I heard that you’re going to see your parents tomorrow. Everything okay?” Greg reached out an imaginary hand to comfort Connie. 

“It’s a little terrifying. I don’t think I’m going to share everything with them.” Connie admitted, realising that it felt a little wrong to have spoken about these things with Greg, but felt terrified to have done the same with her own family. Didn’t they deserve to know too? 

“That’s okay, you can take your time. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“Will they?”

“Uh...it’s hard to tell - but in my experience as a parent, it’s better that you tell them now rather than never at all.” Greg’s voice crackled slightly down the phone. 

“I’ll have to tell them about the baby sometime.” Connie laughed, going back to what Max had spoken about previously. 

“Yeah, that’s one that you can’t hide.” Greg laughed nervously. “Anyway, I’ll leave you to spend your day with that fancy ring...and Steven of course. Tell Max I said hi!” 

“I will. Thanks, Greg. I’ll speak to you soon.” Connie said her goodbyes before hanging up and passing the phone back to Steven. 

Steven smiled over at her as he took back the phone. Unlike the time that he had taken the phone back from her and discovered something about the book, this time was different. This time was for something concerning them both that was happy. The proposal was something that Steven had been waiting for. It had been a long time in the making, but he was pleased that it had finally happened. 

"So...my dad's pretty excited." Steven laughed with a smile, putting his phone back into his pocket. 

"About both things." Connie snorted, referring back to both the proposal and the baby. 

"Me too." Steven touched his hand against her shoulder, a way to show how much he cared. 

"Me three. This is super exciting. I mean, I'm not even the one being knocked up or proposed to, neither of those things I ever want to happen to me. Although, I do have to say that it's incredibly exciting and I much prefer it this way. You're a trooper, best bud. I can barely carry my groceries up the stairs to my apartment, let alone carrying a baby for nine months." Max practically gasped as she explained how little she had the desire to be in the same position as Connie. That didn't mean that she wasn't super excited to have been sat beside her the entire time. 

“I haven’t got there yet, I’m not looking forward to the later stages.” Connie held onto her stomach as she looked down. The idea of a human being growing inside of her was still such a bizarre concept, especially considering she wasn’t quite showing yet. At least, not unless you  _ really _ looked. 

It would have been easier to hide over the next couple of weeks in comparison to what was to come. If her own mother’s experience of pregnancy was anything to go by, she knew that she was in for a rough nine months. 

“I’ll get you a basketball if you want, so we can test to see what clothes you’re going to fit into?” Max cocked an eyebrow. Connie had no idea whether Max’s offer was genuine or not, worryingly - it felt genuine. 

“You can always wear my shirts.” Steven shrugged, making a much more sensible offer. Connie had already internally thought about it and knew exactly which shirts she was probably going to make sure she wore throughout her pregnancy. Most of which were Steven’s old band t-shirts that she mostly wore in bed. 

“Lots of hoodies, especially around my parents for now.” Connie laughed nervously. How was she ever going to have been able to hide it from her parents? There was no way that she could hide a baby from them. 

This was her biggest nightmare. Not only was she a disappointment to them, but she had run away with a boy and gotten herself pregnant. It didn’t make the situation any better that she had gotten pregnant before they had gotten married. That was just another step too far. Her parents were going to continue to hate her for it. 

If she was going to have told them about it, she would have had to have let them down softly. It was important to her that they got the right idea about what had happened. She certainly hadn’t intended for it to have been that way, but things just...they happened. There was nothing that she could have done about it now. At least, options that she wanted to consider. 

“Anyway, I think it’s best we get the Connie Maheswaran show on the road! It’s getting pretty late and Baltimore is calling us.” Max cupped her hand over her ear as she looked around the hotel lobby. It was good to know that they were going to have moved from that particular spot soon enough. Max had been sitting there far too long waiting for the couple. 

“You’re right, we need to get out of here.” Connie agreed. 

“The penultimate signing.” Steven grinned, a part of him happy that they were going to have been going home soon. 

It wasn’t such a bad thing that they had been on the tour, but Steven had found himself completely exhausted by the experience. It was nothing like when he would play on tour. Perhaps it was just due to him being incredibly used to it? Either way, he knew that he wasn’t the only one who was looking forward to going home. 

Max loved every single tour she had ever been on, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t missing her record player and the comfort of her own bed. She couldn’t wait to spend an evening staring at her ceiling as a record spun beside her. It was all she could think about doing. 

Connie was tired from everything. It would have just been good for her to have taken a rest. There was a lot for them to have sorted out when they went back home, including doctor’s appointments and what Connie could have only assumed would have been a bunch of meetings. She knew that this had triggered something inside of Steven where all he wanted to do was look at things that would have improved the baby’s life. 

For a start, they were going to have painted their spare bedroom. She knew that for a fact. They had already mentioned it in passing, it was something that they had wanted to have done for a while - but now they just had a great excuse for doing it. 

Connie spent the whole train journey cuddled up beside Steven staring down at the ring that she had been given the previous night. A promise that one day they would eventually be married. It was a nice sentiment, but she wasn’t quite sure how well her parents would have taken to the news. Greg just seemed to be happy with anything that happened in their relationship whereas with her parents she always had to work a lot harder to get anything out of them. 

Connie had come to realise that would have been the way things are no matter how hard she would try to sway them to have a different opinion. It was fine, it wasn’t as if she was going to have been able to do anything to make them think differently. She was accepting that fact with every passing day. 

The best thing for her to have done was to have lived her life - away from them both. It wasn’t something that she had ever thought that she would have to do, but it was the best for both of them. It was the only way that they knew they wouldn’t have fallen out with one another every single time that they came in contact. 

It was best for her to have taken her independence and ran. 

Being the penultimate signing, Connie paid a lot more attention to all of the people that were asking for their books to have been signed. There were so many people that she felt as if she had seen over and over and yet they were all in different cities. 

Connie had come to realise that for every single person that crossed paths with her mostly just came up as a blur. All she had done was gotten a brief outline of who they were, followed by the name that they had written down on the post-it-note that Max had given them. She had done exactly what she wished she hadn’t. She had forgotten who each of the people were as individuals. 

She had made it her mission at the last signings to try her hardest to get into a mindset where she would have to learn each of the names of the people who brought her a book up. She wanted to know each of them as a person. The one thing that she had wanted to have done on the tour but had been far too selfishly distracted to have done so. 

Admittedly, she had a lot going on. It wasn’t completely fair for her to have blamed herself. Although, she believed that she should have made a lot more effort. It was something that had been important to her and she should have been the one to try to change that for the better. She couldn’t help but feel wrong for her lack of effort and commitment to the signings. 

In Baltimore, she made sure to listen. 

Steven and Max picked up on her increased interactions with the people that came and greeted her at the table. For the first time on the entire tour, it looked as if she was happy. 

Happy. Something that Connie hadn’t quite felt in a while. Everything had been hammering onto her day after day and yet at that signing she truly felt like she could have a genuine smile on her face. 

It was terrible that she had only felt this way at the very end of the tour, but she was pleased that she had felt it at all. It was good to have been feeling that way when every day in the past she had been sulking about the situation she had been put in. 

Although, today was different. Today she knew all of the things that were going to have happened to her in the future. At least, the big ones that she could mentally prepare herself for. There was no need for her to have worried about anything bad happening at that particular time. She had all of the time in the world to have worried about everything else. 

For now, she was happy. For now, she was going to have kept looking either side of her and smiling at both her best friend and her fiance. 

It was...reassuring. 

It showed Connie that no matter what she decided in her life, the people either side of her would have been there every single step of the way. They were both just as important to her in many different ways and she was incredibly grateful for them. 

Connie signed her name in one of the last books with a grin spread across her face. She gently passed the book back over to the fan and nodded happily. She knew that the next coming days were going to have been just fine. In fact, even though she had been a little worried about going to visit her parents, she couldn’t have imagined it to have gone poorly. 

She wanted it to have gone well and she was sure that it would have. She just needed to keep in a mindset where she felt as if everything was going to have been okay - even if it wasn’t going to have been. 

That night, Steven held her a little tighter than he had done previous nights. It was nice to know that they had spent a lot of the day together after he had proposed. He still couldn’t quite believe that one day, Connie was going to have been his wife. It was official now. It was something that was really going to have been happening and he wouldn’t have ever been able to stop thinking about it. 

He couldn’t wait to have gone home.

Things were a lot different now from what they had expected, but that didn’t mean any of it was bad. In fact, everything was incredibly new and that was exciting. 

Both Steven and Connie were very much looking forward to the future. 

Something that neither of them thought that they would have been able to do for a while and yet there they were...hoping that they would have been able to meet their baby sooner rather than later. 


	17. Beach City, DE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Maheswaran parents open their doors to the couple for the evening and things don't quite go the way that they expected...

The tour had worked out so that they would have spent an extra day in the Baltimore area, meaning that it wasn’t too far to travel over to Beach City. This allowed for Connie to have gone to visit her parents and for Max to catch a band in the Baltimore area that night that she had wanted to see for a long time this meant that she was staying there for the night as Connie and Steven went to visit the Maheswarans. 

However, moving the last tour date across one day was the perfect reason for them to have spent some time in Connie’s hometown - at least, the place that her parents had chosen to settle in when she was twelve. Before then, it was a mixture of just about anywhere. 

Surprisingly, the Maheswarans had offered a room in their home for Connie and Steven for the night. Well, room and a half. Unfortunately, it was probably something that they had come to agree to do reluctantly. It was fine if Connie wanted to come home, but it was another thing inviting her boyfriend, now turned fiance. It was the only way that they would have gotten Connie to have visited along the route of the tour. 

Connie had been back to see her parents a couple of times, every time without Steven. It wasn’t the fact that she didn’t want him to go with her - but it just made things a lot easier on everyone. Every time that she went to see them they would always be curious to know if they had broken up, her parents would have been incredibly displeased to find out that certainly wasn’t the case this time. 

“It’s going to be fine. We’re just spending the night. There’s nothing bad about that. You have all of the bags, right?” Connie glanced over the top of the Toober that had parked outside of the street to her family home. 

“The two we didn’t leave with Max, yeah!” Steven grinned happily as he reached into the trunk of the Toober and grabbed the two rucksacks that they had packed for the night that they would have been staying with the Maheswarans.

“Alright. Okay.”

“Hey, Connie?” 

“What is it?” Connie turned around on her heel as she clenched her fists together anxiously, hoping that her parents didn’t think it was a good idea to look out the window.

“Deep breaths. It’s going to be okay.” Steven laughed as he tapped the trunk of the Toober to inform the driver that he had both of the bags. He threw one of them over his shoulder and held the other in his opposite hand. 

“Steven…” Connie grumbled with a smile, pinching the bridge of her nose in embarrassment. Suddenly, she noticed the ring that was wrapped around her finger - an obvious sign of what had happened between them. Her parents were bound to pick up on it. 

Connie practically gasped as the door to the front of her childhood home opened, causing her to try and pull the ring from her finger as quickly as possible. Steven walked up the path and smiled up at the door, Connie fumbling around with the ring and quickly shoving it in her front pocket. 

“Good afternoon, Mr and Dr Maheswaran!” Steven beamed with a small cheer, always happy to see them despite them not always feeling the same way. Although, any way that he got to see Connie’s family was a bonus. 

“Afternoon, Steven.” Doug smiled in response, perhaps in a way coming to some kind of understanding that it had been years now...his daughter wasn’t ever going to let go of the emo boy who had stolen her heart no matter how much they tried to convince her otherwise. It was never going to work. 

“Any later and I thought you were going to miss dinner. I thought you were getting on a train from Baltimore?” Priyanka questioned as she came to the door, interested to know what their excuse was going to have been for...being on time. At least Connie had made the effort to be on time, unlike her parents who had shown up a whole day early the first time that they had visited them in their new home. Or maybe her book release party where they decided that they didn’t want to show up until the end. 

“We did. It just...took a little longer than we thought. We’re still here though!” Connie grinned up at them, trying to get past the idea that her parents were going to have been hypocritical about something the moment that she appeared on their doorstep. 

“Would you like to come inside?” Doug offered, opening up the home to the couple. It wasn’t quite what Steven had expected straight away, then again, he wasn’t convinced that the Maheswarans were mean enough to leave them standing out in the middle of the cold street. 

Connie nodded, realising how cold it was on the East coast during that time of the year. It was cold in Nashville at points, but nothing compared to the snowy winters that they had in Beach City. She didn’t completely miss them - not as an adult. Snow would only serve to have been more of a hindrance than anything.

Both of the Maheswaran parents stepped aside as they welcomed their daughter and Steven, who they had never allowed inside of the house before. Saying that, he had never been to Beach City before. He had enjoyed looking out of the window on the way there, staring at all of the things in the surrounding area. It was really fun to see where Connie grew up considering she knew everything she needed to know about his childhood and where he came from. 

Anything that included her life before college she tried to keep to herself. It wasn’t as if it was exactly something that she would have been proud of. It mostly consisted of a friendless existence whilst she was in school. Steven had stated plenty of times in the past that if they had ever gone to school together he would have been her friend, but that didn’t mend any of her memories. 

“You can put your bags down by the door.” Priyanka was a little blunt in the way that she spoke, but Connie knew that she didn’t mean to have been so direct as she was. Sure, it was an instruction - but it didn’t sound like one with critique. This was simply just a direction so that Steven could put the two backpacks down. 

“And then you can make yourselves at home. I’m sure after that long journey you’re probably pretty tired. Would anyone like a drink?” Doug suddenly offered, making sure that despite his wife showing how blunt she could be that he was still showing as much hospitality as possible. 

“That would be amazing, thank you.” Steven smiled, happy to have been a part of the conversation. He was continuously polite, something that both of the Maheswarans were still sceptical of. 

He must have been nice enough for Connie to have stuck around. That or his extravagant lifestyle had gotten into Connie’s mind and plagued her with thoughts of drugs and alcohol. 

“What’s your 'poison', Steven?” Doug smirked with visual finger quotations, hoping to get in with the crowd. 

“I thought we were having the red wine with dinner?” Priyanka questioned, a little confused why Doug was offering their alcohol. At least, that was how it sounded. 

“Well, I had a few beers left. I was just going to offer one to Steven.” Doug shrugged. 

Steven felt a little on the spot, thinking about whether or not the offer was some kind of test. Either he could take the drink and prove that he was what they believed he was. An alcoholic rockstar who knew nothing more than how to play the guitar and take drugs. That certainly wasn’t the case, he only smoked pot occasionally and his alcohol consumption certainly wasn’t a lot. Either that or he could say yes to the drink and manage to get in with Doug. Maybe it would have helped their relationship to have shared a beer? 

“I-it’s okay, thank you. I’d much prefer water.” Steven held his hand out in front of him and denied the offer. 

“Suit yourself, but let me know if you change your mind. I have a monthly craft beer subscription. Very creative and a good local business. They even have free delivery.” Doug began to get a little too excitable about one of his hobbies. Priyanka subtly rolled her eyes causing Connie to titter at the sight. 

She loved it when her dad was goofy enough to get on her mother’s nerves. Despite her and her mother often being at one another’s throats, they also both loved Doug and that meant that they could either both be on their own team against Doug or one another. It depended on the day. 

“Connie? Anything for you?” Priyanka asked, placing her hands on her hips as she spoke. 

“Uh, the same would be fine, thank you.” Connie nodded, kicking off her shoes slowly so that they didn’t fly into the wall opposite. Steven copied her actions, kneeling over to untie the Vans. He wore them every single day and were still stained by huge watermarks from where Connie’s stomach acid had destroyed the colouration in them. 

He felt a little bit embarrassed taking the shoes off in the household knowing just how dirty and disgusting they were. A little bit of his touring personality came through on the red pair of shoes that he had since they had been in the United Kingdom. At least they weren’t as well-loved as the last pair that he had before the replacement. 

Steven stood beside Connie awkwardly in their living room as both Doug and Priyanka made their way into the kitchen to fetch them glasses of water and to tend to the dinner that they were cooking. Steven found himself looking around the family home. 

From the nicely decorated room, comfy looking couches and plenty of family photos hanging up around the home...it felt nice. Connie and Steven had managed to make their own house a balance between what both of them were used to. Steven very much enjoyed what a family home should have looked like, whereas that wasn’t something that he had particularly grown up with. Pictures of his family weren't something that they had done, considering most of the pictures that they had were inside of magazines or on the front of album covers. 

There was no room for them to have family photos in their first family home. The closest that Steven got to having his picture hanging up in a family home was a picture of him on his eighth birthday stuck inside of the back of Greg's old touring van and the baby picture that his dad kept in his wallet. 

Steven couldn’t help himself but to step forward and have a look at the photos that trailed themselves up the stairs, starting with a cabinet that held a bunch of different family photos on the top of it. There was everything from photos of distant family members, photos of Doug and Priyanka when they were much younger, wedding photos and...

"Oh my gosh! Is that you as a baby?" Steven practically squealed as he pointed at the adorable photograph of Connie as an infant. She truly was adorable, an image that Steven hadn't seen before. 

"Yep. That's me!" Connie sighed happily, it was nice to see Steven so excited to have been in her family home. She knew it was something that he had been looking forward to for a long time. 

"You were such a cute baby! I bet our bab-" Steven was cut off as a hand went over his mouth. 

"Shh! You can’t say anything yet!" Connie was quick to make sure her parents weren't able to hear what she had been up to whilst she was away. She could only dread to think what her parents would have said about it. She couldn't imagine them being happy about someone like Steven getting her pregnant. 

"Right!" Steven pressed his lips into a thin line as he stood up straight. He wasn't going to say a thing until the time was right. Soon!

Connie continued to walk through the living room and into the kitchen to join her parents before she noticed something right in front of her. A photograph that she recognised, but not one that she had given her parents. She picked up the photo frame for closer examination only to see the photograph of her adult self from just over a year ago. 

"Hey, Dad? Where did you get this picture?" Connie asked as she turned the photo frame around and showed it to her father in the kitchen. Steven stood close behind her, looking over her shoulder, curious to see what the picture was of. 

Doug looked over from the kitchen and squinted through the doorway, trying to view what the image was. 

"Oh, that one! You sent it to us, remember? On an email? I understand it wasn't the best time for us, but you looked happy." Doug shrugged. 

"Maybe if you sent more images we'd have them up instead." Priyanka's words were cold, despite it not seeming as if she meant for them to have come across that way. Connie exchanged a quick glance with Steven as he stepped a little closer. 

Connie turned the image around and looked at it with a sad expression as she stared at the frame. It was a photograph that she had sent her parents when she was in the U.K. on an email to prove to them that she wasn't just hanging out with a rock band. To prove that she wasn't in some ditch doing drugs. To prove that Steven was a nice man who would have done anything for her. 

She wasn't quite sure if the image had gone down well, but she hadn't noticed it the last time she was there. It was something they had put up semi-recently and that made her stomach flutter at the thought. Despite it not quite having the right reasoning behind it, it was a nice sentiment for them to have printed out the photograph. The fact that it had Steven in it was even better. 

The photograph was the one that her and Steven took together in front of the Angel of the North back when they were in England. It was a windy day and a little cold, Steven had his arm wrapped around her with them both in similar-looking hoodies. Connie's hair was flowing just about everywhere, but that didn't distract anyone from the sweet smiles that they both had on their faces. 

Even if they both had troubles happening inside of their mind at the time, it was nice of them to have put that aside for thirty seconds as the band helped take pictures together. 

"Hey, I like that photo!" Steven pointed happily, internally screaming about how great it was that the Maheswarans had acknowledged him to have been such a large part of Connie's life they were willing to have a picture of him in their house! 

He was going to be their future son-in-law after all, even if they didn't know it just yet. 

It was strange for Connie to have seen the photograph in their home. Especially the way that he had his arm around her. It was the sort of picture that stuck out from the rest on the walls and cabinets. It was a sheer attempt to understand her world and even just the gesture felt...nice. 

"I...I can get you some photos if you want. I'm going to be in a magazine soon. The photoshoot I did went well!" Connie gently placed the photo back down, Steven continuing to look at it in awe. 

"The photos are really pretty!" Steven commented, forgetting his company. 

Everyone paused for a moment. Hearing Steven speak that way about their daughter made them somewhat uncomfortable. It shouldn't have - but it did. 

"I'm sure they are! I can't wait to see them." Doug made the save before going back to stirring the pot on the stove. Connie was happy to have heard his reaction, it was good to know that he would have been supportive. 

Connie thought for a second. It was only a couple of days ago that they had the photographer take the beautiful photos of them at the Philip Butler party when they had dressed up. She had completely forgotten that she was going to have given it to them as a gift. Something that a part of her thought was a little strange, but she knew they would have appreciated. 

A part of her was worried that they would have put something over Steven’s face so that they couldn’t see the boy who had taken her daughter away from them. Although, it was unlikely that they would have done that considering the photo from the UK had his face in full show. It wasn’t as if they had covered it up or folded the photograph in half so that it was only her. Maybe there was hope yet? 

Steven couldn’t stop staring down at the photograph, wondering how long it had been inside of the house. After all of his efforts to try and make sure he was in with the Maheswaran parents, it seemed like a pretty huge win to have a picture of himself inside of their family home. It made him feel as if he was...a part of it. 

Greg had made sure to make the couple a large part of his life, it was known that he even had a photograph of Steven and Connie on his desk in his office. It made him happy to see his son happy and knowing that Connie was the person who made him that way was lovely to see. Greg had so much love in his heart for them both and Steven only wished for Connie’s parents to have treated him the same way. 

“Hey, I got you guys a gift!” Connie grinned happily, excited to have shown them the photograph that they had taken together. Connie walked over to her backpack and opened it up to have a look inside for the framed photograph that she was going to give them. 

Steven thought, knowing exactly what she was going to have pulled out of the bag. They both looked great in that photograph and little would her parents know that the image was taken on the same day that Connie had accepted a proposal. Having the photograph as a memory was incredibly important to Steven considering they never got any photographs of him down on one knee. 

“What is it?” Priyanka asked, stepping out of the kitchen to have a look at what her daughter was going to bring her. 

“Well, you just said that you wanted more pictures of me, so I thought that I would get you one! It was from the other night on the tour, Steven and I got invited to a fancy party by Philip Butler.” Connie turned the photo frame around and passed it over to her mother. 

“Philip Butler? Like...the TV host?! Podcast producer? Real big in the nineties?” Doug stepped out of the kitchen at the name. 

“Oh! I completely forgot to tell you. Steven and I were on his podcast...because of the book!” Admittedly, Connie was a little proud to have stated that fact, considering how famous Philip Butler was. She was a little bit proud of that achievement. A lot proud. 

“Wait. Really?” Doug’s face dropped. He knew that his daughter had a book that was selling well, but he didn’t quite realise that it was selling well enough for her to have been on a Philip Butler podcast. 

Priyanka waited a few moments, a little speechless at who her daughter had been hanging around with. She was yet to have turned the photograph the right way up so that she could see her daughter when she was at the party. 

“Oh, yeah! Connie was so good that we got invited to a party in New York.” Steven added, incredibly proud of Connie. All he wanted to do was make sure her parents were proud of her too. 

“It was a black-tie and we got to dress up real fancy. Look!” Connie pointed out as she twisted the photograph around in Priyanka’s hands. Priyanka stared down at the framed photograph as the photo of Steven in a tuxedo and Connie in a beautiful blue dress was revealed. 

Priyanka stood there, speechless as Doug stepped over slowly and took a look at the photograph over his wife’s shoulder. Both Steven and Connie exchanged glances, thinking that perhaps they had done something wrong. What was so wrong about going to a black-tie event? Nothing, surely? 

“Connie...you look beautiful.” Doug cleared his throat slightly as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, staring down at the photo in just about as much shock as Priyanka. 

“Thanks, Dad.” Connie held her hands together as she waited for her mother to say something. Anything. Her mom continued to stare at the picture, prompting a silence in the room that Connie was desperate to break. “I-Is everything okay?” 

“You look so grown up.” Priyanka smiled as she touched the top of the photograph, a part of her reminiscent of her daughter when she was little. She had grown up to be such a beautiful young woman and dare they say it...but in many respects they were...proud. They struggled to say it, but they knew it within their hearts that was the case. 

“Oh. Well, I have grown up!” Connie laughed awkwardly, shrugging. Little did she know how much she had grown up since she had left for college. Once a nervous introvert, still a nervous introvert - just better! Much better!

Steven chewed his bottom lip as he prevented himself from smiling too much. It was precious to see Connie and her parents share the exchange. It was something that he wished his dad would have done with him and he knew that at some point when he was home he probably would. The image of Connie and Steven at the event would have certainly ended up on his desk.

“How’d you even get invited to a party like that? I listen to his podcasts in the car sometimes.” Doug tilted his head, Connie had no idea that her dad was an avid Philip Butler fan. 

“Like I said, I was invited on the podcast and then we...well, it was mostly because Philip Butler knew Steven’s mom. I think.” Connie gestured over at Steven who was standing awkwardly on the opposite side of the room. 

“She was on his show once. No big deal.” Steven laughed nervously, not wanting to get into too much detail about what Philip Butler had shown him that day. Sure, it was nothing more than a clip of his mother and her bandmates, but he would have been lying if seeing it hadn’t made him a little uncomfortable. He hated being related to his mom for the things she had done. He wasn't like her.

“Oh jeez, I always forget that your mom was that huge pop star back in the nineties. Music runs through your blood!” Doug got a little excited as he exclaimed. He was beginning to sound like all of the people that made Steven uncomfortable throughout his life, but coming from Connie’s father - it sounded different. 

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Steven smiled down at the floor shyly, feeling happy that Doug had been paying enough attention to acknowledge him and even his mother. In a way, it was weird, but it was also nice of him to know that he existed and the talent that he held for music. 

“Anyway, I thought that you would like it. We dressed up all fancy for the evening and there were all sorts of things there. You would have loved it, Mom. They even had a live string set and that tiny food you like, Dad.” Connie attempted to make the party a little more appealing to them both. It certainly did sound fancy to them. It was all about making sure she could get some of the attention from Steven, especially when it came to anything about his mother. 

“The photograph is lovely, Connie. You look very nice. Both of you.” Priyanka held the photo out slightly as she nodded to both Steven and Connie. Both of their hearts skipped a beat at the confirmation that she had just given them for a compliment. It was weird to have heard, especially when it came to hearing her somewhat compliment Steven. 

“Thank you, Dr Maheswaran.” Steven nodded, happy to have been a part of the conversation. 

“That’s no problem, I have to say that you do clean up very nicely.” Priyanka continued to flood him was half-compliments causing his heart to skip a beat. It felt a little as if he was getting some kind of approval from her which was all he had ever asked for. 

All he wanted was to have been good enough for their daughter. That was all he ever asked for from them. 

“You also suit a bowtie, I’m very much a necktie man myself.” Doug straightened his tie as he stood in the middle of the living room beside his wife. Not even on his day off was he going to pass up on the opportunity to have worn one of his neckties. It was just something that he enjoyed about his style. It was unique, it was his and he was going to own it no matter what. 

“I don’t think I suit neckties.” Steven laughed, thinking back to Connie’s graduation where he had spent far too long looking at TubeTube tutorials on how to tie a necktie. Admittedly, before he had managed to get the bowtie on he had consulted Connie who helped him by doing it for him. She too had watched a Tubetube video to try and get the tie right. 

“Stick to the bowties then, kid.” Doug laughed, convincing Steven that he was never going to have worn a necktie ever again. That was it. He wasn’t going to show up in anything less than a bowtie whenever he met with her parents in any kind of fancy setting ever again. 

It was nice to have heard from Connie’s parents about his appearance at the party, considering he had spent a lot of time on making sure that he looked good for the event. The only thing that he hadn’t completely cleaned up with the stubble on his face, but he was sure that it went nicely with the outfit. It wasn’t as patchy as usual and certainly helped him look a little more mature than his usual baby-face without his facial hair. 

Steven was pleased that her parents had taken the time to look at the picture further than Connie. It felt nice to know.

As the afternoon passed, Steven and Connie found themselves helping out with setting the table for dinner and making sure everything was in order. They helped lay out the table and tried to kick-start a few conversations with her parents. Most of them were casual, but that was exactly what they needed to sway away from the awkwardness. 

The dinner had been going well between all of the parties involved. Priyanka and Doug had spent a lot of the afternoon making sure that they prepared a dinner that they could be proud of. One that they were sure Steven and Connie would have enjoyed. If they were trying to get Connie to stay in their home more often than not, then welcoming her as much as possible would have been their best bet. 

They wanted her to have visited more. The last thing they wanted her to do was to never visit them again. 

“So, Steven...how’s the music going?” Doug asked suddenly, Steven sitting opposite him at the dinner table with a mouthful of food. He swallowed hard before gauging the situation with eye contact with both of Connie’s parents. 

“Uh...it’s going well.” Steven wasn’t sure what else he could have said. There was so much that he wanted to tell them about the music he played, but nothing that he could have said would have made him the perfect suitor for their daughter. 

No matter how hard he tried, he would never have been right for her. 

“Good. We were thinking maybe we could catch one of your shows one day. If you’re ever in the area of course.” Doug shrugged before taking a bite of his food. 

Connie nearly spat out half her dinner at the ask. It wasn’t something that she had ever expected to come out of her father’s mouth. There was no way that they really wanted to see Steven play. She would never have allowed it. There was no way that she was going to let them come to one of his shows. 

“That would be...I could sort that out.” Steven looked over to Connie as if to seek some kind of reassurance. It wasn’t as if he was going to get any when she was in just as much shock. He wasn’t sure how he would have felt if the Maheswarans showed up at one of his shows. 

It would have been awkward. 

Embarrassing. 

Although, Steven was proud of the music that he played. He just wasn’t quite sure if the music was something that they would have appreciated. He may have been able to guess that Doug would have been the type to listen to the kind of music that he played, but he very much doubted that Priyanka would have done anything of the sorts. 

"I suppose touring as an author is a lot less chaotic than touring as a musician." Priyanka commented, poking her food around before finally deciding on what to eat.

"Well, funny you say that-" Connie snorted.

Touring as an author was a lot more stressful than she had ever felt when she was on tour with Steven. She wasn't even quite sure that Steven felt the same amount of stress when he was on tour than she had done the past couple of weeks. 

"Touring is hard, regardless of what you're touring for. You're away from home for a long time and you're always working. Getting home is the best part because being able to sleep in your own bed is awesome!" Steven began to speak about their time on tour. He wanted to at least talk about his passion with her parents in a basic form. 

"So, your father just pays for you to stay in fancy hotels?" Priyanka cocked an eyebrow.

"It's the record label that pays now. Back when I met Connie, I was mostly couch surfing on tour." Steven smiled, happy to have shared his past. 

"You were homeless?" Priyanka's expression dropped, unsure of his previous situations. Connie gritted her teeth together and paused her eating.

"N-no not exactly. It was just too expensive to find somewhere to stay for the night, so some people at our shows let us sleep on their couch. It was totally safe and everyone was really nice!" Steven sweated, realising that he had dug himself a hole. 

"You slept in stranger's homes?" Priyanka didn't quite understand the lifestyle. Steven had been doing it for as long as he could remember. A lot of his life was spent growing up in a van, so spending the night on someone's couch didn't seem so bad. In fact, it was nice. 

"Before you ask, Mom - I didn't. Steven didn't do that after we met. Max and I stayed in accommodation. Private accommodation." Connie assured her mother, knowing that if she didn't then she may have been under judgement from them both. 

"Well - being a rockstar sounds fun!" Doug commented with a grin, trying to brighten up the mood. 

Although, today was a strange day for the couple to have come to visit. Ever since they had gotten there, the room had been filled with half-compliments that either showed they were trying hard to be positive or trying hard not to be too negative. Either way, it felt good to know they had it on their conscience. 

All Connie wanted was for her mother and father to respect them both throughout their decisions. Even the ones that they may not have agreed with. 

Throughout the casual conversation, Connie felt like it was nearing the time to just admit what she had been doing throughout the tour. It would have been best to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. 

After some more shared conversation, she knew it was time. It was now or never. Steven knew it too. 

Connie gripped onto Steven’s hand on the top of the table and glanced over towards him. It had been a long time since they had both witnessed telling her parents something about them both. It was terrifying, internally questioning what horrible thing could have come out of revealing parts of their relationship next. 

Steven looked over at her and smiled sweetly. He had been waiting for a long time to have shared such important information with her family. He couldn’t wait to go home and speak to his dad in more depth about the two incredibly important things that had happened to him throughout the tour. 

Connie took a deep breath as she prepared herself to reveal the good news at the same time as Steven. He turned towards her parents and grinned widely. 

Despite being a perfect moment in both of their minds, it seemed as if there had been some kind of miscommunication between the two of them. A grave mistake. 

So, just like that...they spoke over one another.

“We’re pregnant!”

“We’re engaged!” 

“What?” Priyanka gasped, barely able to take in what both of them had said at the same time.

Steven’s eyes widened at his mistake, slowly turning towards Connie as she mirrored his expression of horror. 

Firstly, stating that they were both pregnant was a mistake on Steven’s part, although he knew it as a common expression. He had seen a lot of pregnancy reveals online that had made him cry. Secondly, Connie had expected them to have both said the same thing on command and yet...it didn’t exactly play out how she wanted. 

She most certainly didn’t want her parents to know she was…

“Pregnant!?” Doug’s face turned somewhat white at the dinner table, holding onto his shirt with a shocked expression. 

Steven pressed his hands against the edge of the table and gritted his teeth together before smiling, nervously sweating at his mistake. 

“E-Engaged! We’re engaged!” Steven chuckled nervously before giving them a toothy smile, hoping that he could have played off his words as a mistake. What had he done? 

It was a rather large mistake that couldn’t have been misheard by either of them. He wasn’t going to have been able to get away with it in the slightest. 

“Y-yeah, that’s what I said! Look, Steven got me a ring!” Connie lifted her hand and wiggled her finger with the fancy ring around it that she had just slipped back on through conversation, allowing it to shine under the light of the dining table. 

“I proposed!”

“I said ‘yes!’”

“We’re engaged!”

"Marriage is on the table!"

"Woo! We're engaged!" Steven's voice cracked. 

“Yes, yes we are!” Connie laughed as she continued to point towards the ring, doing everything she possibly could to cover up Steven’s error. Their back and forth wasn’t fooling the two perplexed looking parents on the opposite side of the table. 

“You’re engaged  _ and  _ pregnant?!?” Priyanka wasn’t quite sure how else to ask as she barked across the table in complete shock. 

“I’m…” Connie exchanged glances between both of her parents. She had been in positions somewhat similar to the one that she was experiencing. Perhaps not to the same extent, but she knew the look that her parents were currently giving her. It was one that told her that she had finally been caught out on a lie. 

However, this time there hadn’t been any kind of a lie. It wasn’t very long since she had found out she was pregnant and Steven had only proposed to her two days before! This was probably the first time that her parents had been some of the first people to know what was going on in her life. 

If anything, it was an improvement from what it used to be between them. 

Steven noticed Connie’s stutter, realising that this wasn’t something that she was going to be able to go through alone. Just like most things between them, they would have battled it together. This was all about making sure that she was comfortable. Her parent’s opinions mattered a great deal to her, but she was more inclined to protect the new family that she was beginning to build. Although, she wanted to protect the relationship with her parents so that they could be a part of it. That was important to her as well. 

Steven reached out his hand and placed it in between both of their dinner plates, leaving his palm open for her to hold onto if she desired. Connie noticed his offer, seeing how much he wanted to be there to comfort her. This was why she wanted to marry the man. 

Connie gently placed her palm on top of his and intertwined their fingers in front of her parents, proving the love that they shared. Connie knew that she wasn’t alone. 

She took a deep breath once more and faced her parents with confidence. 

“Steven and I are getting engaged…” Connie glanced over to Steven with a small nod. 

“And we’re having a baby together.” Steven smiled, the words spilling from his lips filling him with joy. 

The Maheswarans stared across the table at the young couple, unable to process what they were both saying correctly. They had all come a long way in the year with their relationship, including Connie’s parents beginning to give her the space that she needed to live her life as an adult. It was clear that after being with the frontman of an emo band over the years that they shared a lot of love for one another. 

“Wow…” Priyanka was practically speechless. There wasn’t anything that she could think to say that wouldn’t have hurt both of their feelings. Not that she had paid attention to that in the past. 

All Connie wanted was for her parents to have been happy with her decisions for once. For them to acknowledge that it was her life now and that there was nothing they could do about it. They had requested that she didn’t lie to them anymore, so why were they so shocked when she did tell them something? 

It was reactions such as the one that she was receiving that prevented her from ever wanting to tell her parents anything about herself. 

Except, despite her mind travelling somewhere else that told her about her parents not quite being the most caring people in the world - her father decided to speak up. 

“Congratulations - to you both.” Doug nodded, still in incredible shock with what he had just heard. Despite that, he knew that these were things that his daughter was proud of. They were big parts of her life and there was no way that he wouldn’t have been there to have supported her throughout them. 

It wasn’t as if she was hiding anything from them. Suddenly, Priyanka wished that perhaps Connie did keep her secrets. That didn’t quite align with her true thoughts. Of course she wouldn’t have wanted her daughter to have hidden anything from them. That was the whole reason that they had gotten into an argument that had lasted a long time previously. A big part of why.

Connie was doing just as they had requested from her. At the very least...Priyanka couldn’t deny her dedication to making sure that she didn’t lie to them. 

“Thanks, Dad.” Connie smiled, completely shocked and relieved that her father had said something on the subject. It was surprising for her to have heard something so positive, considering the news that she had just given them. 

Connie noticed her dad holding out his open palm just as Steven had done for her. Priyanka glanced down for a moment before following through with the action of holding onto her husband’s hand. If Connie loved Steven as much as she loved Doug, then there shouldn’t have been anything wrong with the relationship. 

It wasn’t as if they were much older when they had found out Priyanka was pregnant with Connie. They didn’t quite have the right to judge. 

“I’m happy for you both. Congratulations.” Priyanka squeezed Doug’s hand a little harder as she spoke. 

Connie blinked rapidly at the response, looking over at Steven to make sure that she wasn’t in some kind of dream. She certainly hadn’t expected her mom to have said anything positive. At the very most, she may have expected something from her dad - but never her mom. 

“T-thanks.” Connie could barely get her words out. 

“Thank you, Doctor and Mr Maheswaran.” Steven nodded towards them both, knowing that Connie was never going to shut up about her parent’s approval. 

"It's not exactly the best kind of circumstance…" Priyanka began. Connie bit her tongue, knowing that she couldn't fight back to her mother. She always seemed to have something to say. Something that was going to upset Connie. Something that she was going to say just to make sure she was heard. Something that would make Connie regret ever coming for dinner and telling them the good news. "...but we appreciate that you could tell us."

Connie swallowed her pride, desperately wanting to fight her mother back for being negative about something in her life. She didn't need to fight her. It felt as if her mother had accepted the news. A new start to their relationship. 

"I want to be honest with you." Connie furrowed her eyebrows, making sure that they knew her plans for the future. There was no way that she wouldn't have wanted her parents in her life. It was best to keep them as happy as possible. 

"I'm glad that you feel you can." Priyanka nodded towards her daughter, making it known that she was pleased with the change in behaviour that had previously split them apart. 

There was silence inside of the room as they all exchanged glances with one another. Steven squeezed a little harder on Connie's hand to show his support throughout the situation. All he wanted was for Connie to have felt comfortable and at the very least if she felt like she needed to leave for him to have thought of some kind of excuse.

However, the dinner was going rather well for the contents that it held. They hadn't fought about anything and Connie had told some pretty hard-hitting things about their relationship. Something that she thought if she was ever to tell them would go incredibly different. 

Priyanka and Doug came from much more...traditional families and as much as they were both internally upset about the idea of Connie not waiting until marriage to conceive - they weren't willing to upset her when she had come back home so happy and proud to have been doing everything that she wanted to do in her life. They no longer lived under the rule of their parents who would have been disgusted by the act. They both had the power to change the tradition. 

"So...when did you find out?" Priyanka began to press, curious to know more about how it was that it came about that she was going to have been a grandmother. It wasn't as if it was something that she had thought about, especially not for it to have happened so soon. 

"Not too long ago. Whilst on the book tour." Connie didn't want to go into it too much. In fact, she hadn't wanted to have spoken about it at all. All she was prepared to have told them about was the engagement. Telling her parents about the pregnancy wasn't something that she had expected or had wanted. 

She was silently cursing Steven under her breath. He was excited. She couldn't quite deny the fact that she hadn't half expected for it to have happened. It was a very Steven thing for him to have done. 

Just as he should have been far more specific about the contents that he wanted inside of the book, Connie should have been blunter about what she wanted to share with her parents. Steven should have known. Should he? 

They were over that. 

"Hmm, and have you prepared yet?" Priyanka continued to press, asking questions that Connie hadn't thought about. 

"Prepared?" Connie squinted. 

"You need to know your plans for the future. It's very important that you speak with your doctor about different options. Are you planning on moving out of your small house? I don't think it would be suitable for a child. Have you considered the schools in the area?" Priyanka began to rant, causing Connie to think about things that were yet to have crossed her mind. 

Steven's heart skipped at the thought, his stomach twisting. How was it that there was so much for them to have to consider when it came to a child that they were yet to think about? Schools? He hadn't even thought that deeply about schools! Only briefly. He had seen one in the area when he had been for walks, but he didn't know anything about it. 

"Mom, we've only just found out. We've been busy with the tour." Connie giggled, her mother's words were somewhat funny to her. Despite there being awkwardness between the dinner table, she wanted to keep the mood as light as possible. 

"Well, your mother likes to be prepared. She was just like it when we found out she was pregnant with you." Doug suddenly piped up, making sure that he followed his heart on what he should have said next. It was one thing to have been a strict parent, but regaining Connie’s trust had been hard. The last thing he wanted to do was to push his daughter away. 

Things were different and things were hard, but he didn’t want to lose her again. He wanted to make sure that he showed his support in any way possible. Even if that meant silencing Priyanka when she went overboard a few times. 

“I wasn’t  _ over- _ prepared. You have to make sure that you have the correct amount of preparation for these kinds of things otherwise it will only lead to disaster.” Priyanka scoffed, trying hard to hide her smile. She saw some kind of hilarity in what Doug was saying. 

“What was Connie like as a baby?” Steven questioned, taking everyone a little off guard. The Maheswaran parents both smiled at one another, hearing the question was a little bizarre coming from Steven, but it was good to know that he was interested. Connie couldn’t help herself but feel a little embarrassed by the question. 

“Too smart for her own good.” Priyanka looked towards her daughter with a smile. 

“This one time, she managed to escape from her crib. So, we kept finding new gates and baby locks to fool you - but she was too smart of them all. Thought we had a little troublemaker on our hands.” Doug explained with a wide smile, happy to have shared the story. Connie felt a little embarrassed by the story, but at least her parents were somewhat bonding with Steven.

“Hey, you were even a smart baby!” Steven laughed, squeezing a little tighter onto her hand. It only made him wonder what their baby was going to have turned out like. All he hoped for was that they would be at least half as beautiful and as smart as Connie. That way, they would have been the perfect kid. 

“Well, I don’t know about that.” Connie chuckled shyly as she tucked her hair behind her ear. 

It was weird. Even though Connie had reluctantly admitted to her parents that she was pregnant, it didn’t quite feel as if it should have. It felt as if her parents were somewhat accepting of the idea that she had done something in her life that was completely against their ideologies. 

It felt as if they had been far too accepting of it all. Far too...understanding. Especially her mother. 

After dinner, Connie thought it would have been a good idea for her to show Steven the bedroom that she had spent most of her teenage years before moving to college. Other than a few boxes that her parents had placed in there for storage, just like Max, the room was pretty much the same as it was when she had left it. 

Steven was mesmerised by the keepsakes that she had left at the house from her childhood. Everything from pens and paper to small figurines that she had decided to leave there upon moving. It was all just memories now and Connie wasn’t going to have taken any of it back home to Nashville. 

“You have a bunk bed?” Steven practically gasped as they entered the room.

“Well, not really...it’s a loft bed. It just means you can have a bed, but not use up a lot of space in the room.” Connie shrugged as she folded over her arms and pressed her shoulder against the edge of the door. 

“Smart. We should get one!”

“No.”

“Why not?” Steven asked with a smirk as he climbed up on the ladder to inspect the bed above. He couldn’t help but imagine a teenage Connie tapping a pen against her forehead as she studied in the room, both in her bed and at the desk. 

“We already have a bed.”

“What about...the baby might want one! We  _ should _ consider the wants and needs of the baby.” Steven nodded with a serious expression as he sat on the bed with his feet on the ladder, ducking slightly so his head didn’t touch the ceiling. 

“We  _ should _ , but I’m not putting my baby in a loft bed. At least, not until they’re older.” 

“They’re probably going to be just as smart as you and need the space to study.” Steven shrugged.

“Maybe, but we’ll find that out when we get there.” Connie smirked, stepping into the room a little further. It felt strange to have been back. “Did you...uh...I know you didn’t mean to say-”

“I’m sorry! I really didn’t know that-” Steven’s eyes widened, the last thing that he wanted was to get into another argument with Connie. He had made a huge mistake when it came down to telling her parents about the baby without her permission. When she had spoken about telling them about the big thing that had happened, he only assumed she was referring to the baby. 

“Steven, it’s okay! It’s...it actually kind of turned out okay.” 

“Two birds-”

“One stone.” Connie smiled up at him.

“Poor birds.” Steven glanced down with a sad expression, gripping onto either side of the bed. 

“Yeah, we should probably use another phrase.” Connie kept her arms folded as she took a look around the room. “Despite telling them, you still have to sleep on the couch.” 

“Wait, what?” Steven’s expression dropped, feeling a little distant at the realisation that he wouldn’t have been able to sleep in the same bed as Connie. 

“Yeah...you know what my parents are like. They don’t want us to share a room and I don’t think we should argue with them about it. This is their house, after all.” Connie pinched the bridge of her nose as she whispered so that her parents hopefully wouldn’t have been able to hear her from downstairs. 

Steven clambered down the steps of the bed, taking his place right in front of Connie. He chewed the bottom of his lip, a little distraught that he would have spent another night away from Connie after spending so many away from her midway through the tour. This wasn’t what he wanted. 

“But...we’re engaged  _ and _ you’re pregnant. What are they afraid of?” Steven’s eyebrows dipped. 

“That. All of that.” Connie laughed. 

“So...surely-”

“I know, it’s silly. Look, two more nights on tour and then we can spend every day for the next week waking up at noon. We can just lay there for hours and…” Connie wrapped her arms around him and buried herself in his neck, holding him tightly. 

“I’d like that.” 

“So, you’ll sleep on the couch for  _ one  _ night?” Connie softly pressed her lips against his jawline as he continued to stare ahead, holding her in his arms as they stood in the middle of her old bedroom. 

“I can sneak up to see you, right?” Steven whispered. 

“No! You can’t, they’ll know!” Connie snapped back in a repeated whisper, gripping onto his shirt a little tighter. 

“I’ll be quiet.” 

“You can’t.”

“Really quiet.”

“Steven…” Connie rolled her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to anger her parents. 

“Okay. Couch. One night - got it.” Steven nodded in confirmation before pulling her slightly out of the hug. “But you’ll text me, yeah?”

“If you want me to text you...I’ll text you.” Connie laughed at his inability to stay disconnected. 

“Yes. I just want to make sure that you and the baby are okay.” 

“Steven, we’ll only be upstairs.” 

“That’s pretty far when I can’t see you.” Steven pouted. 

Steven’s reaction only caused her to laugh, quickly pecking him on the lips for confirmation that everything he had said was what they were going to have done. If he needed texts to say that they were doing okay then she would have happily provided that. Not only that, but they needed to leave Beach City pretty early in the morning to make it back to Baltimore in time for their flight to Florida. The last stop on the tour. 

The couple didn’t want to spend too much time upstairs and away from her parents, worried that they would have only been assuming the worst. All Connie said was that she was going to show Steven her old bedroom and that was it, she didn’t want to stick around for too long. 

As Steven went to help Doug with the trash, Connie helped her mother with the dishes. It was just as they had always done. Chores together always made sure that the job was done right. It was hard for Connie to have spent the time with her mother, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t willing to. 

She was surprised to have heard the way that her mom reacted to the baby. It certainly wasn’t what she had expected to have heard from her. It felt as if she wasn’t even that mad at the whole situation which only served to perplex Connie even further. 

“You’re going to keep us updated? About the baby? How you’re doing?” Priyanka barely looked over at her daughter as she passed her a plate, Connie gripped it with the towel as she glanced down. 

“Yeah, I can do that.” 

“And you’ll send me the credentials of whatever doctor you decide to see? I can speak to someone to find you the best midwife in Nashville. I have connections.” Priyanka stated, clearly showing her love for her daughter in the most uncomfortable way possible. 

“Thanks for the offer, but I sort of need to figure all of that stuff out on my own.” Connie stated, not realising that the words that she had spoken were ones that a couple of years ago she never would have been able to even utter in the same room as one of her parents. 

She was pushing boundaries, but she was willing to see how far they would have gone. 

“You don’t have to do everything on your own.”

“I have Steven.”

“You know what I meant.”

“And Max. And the band. And Greg. And-” Connie began to list people off on her fingers, attempting to prove her point. 

“I know! You have lots of people out there that you can rely on. That’s...good. It’s good for you to have people that you can trust.” Priyanka nodded, finding herself stopping mid-sentence at one point to formulate the correct words. She didn’t want to have to speak about everyone else in Connie’s life, especially when they didn’t quite get the chance to have been involved much anymore. 

“I’m lucky to have them.” Connie half-smiled, knowing how grateful she was of the people she held close. 

“I’m glad you do. The last thing I’d want is for you to have to be out in that state on your own. Let alone all of these crazy adventures you seem to go on when you’re travelling the world.” Priyanka laughed in disbelief, still a little unsure what it was that her daughter did when it came to her work and everything that surrounded it. 

“I haven’t travelled the world! I went to the United Kingdom once.” Connie scoffed with a small chuckle, she didn’t want to have to bring up the UK trip considering what that had done with her relationship with them. 

“Haven’t you toured America a few times?” Her mom cocked an eyebrow, it was clear that she hadn’t been kept in the loop of what it was that Connie had been doing. Exploring different states was something and yet touring was another thing. Connie didn’t quite have a lot of time to do much else other than go to a few museums and do what she would have considered her job. 

“We’ve been to lots of different states. It’s...been fun. I’ve seen lots of historical sites that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see. It’s been amazing, I’d love to take you to some of the places one day - I think you would like them.” Connie smiled over at her mother, she wasn’t quite sure if her offer was empty as a way of being polite. Either way, for Priyanka to have heard the words it made her smile in return. 

“Maybe if I had as much confidence as you when I was your age then maybe I’d have already seen them.” Priyanka looked away as she held onto the dinner plate in the sink, ready to scrub once again but pausing in the process. She looked over at Connie and half-smiled before speaking words that Connie had never heard come out of her mother’s mouth before. “Although your life choices may not have been what I had expected, I can see that you’re happy and if it amounts for anything - I’m pleased you have a direction.”

Half of the comment felt like criticism, but the other was heartfelt and probably one of the nicest things her mother had ever said to her. It felt bizarre for it to have come out of her mouth, but she could have listened to the sentence over and over for the satisfaction that it brought. Connie’s lips curled at the words, thinking about how wonderful it was that her mother would have said such a thing. 

It was something that maybe mothers should have said regardless. Something that she should have been hearing since the beginning. It felt like something that Richard would have said. Something that she had wished for many times in the past. It was something that she knew she could have done with hearing before all of this had happened. 

“Thanks, Mom. I am happy.” Connie smiled back sweetly, showing how happy she was to have heard the words. Everything was falling into place. It may not have been in the way that she had expected, but it was happening and that was all that mattered. That was all that Connie wanted to focus on. The positive side of things. 

“You’re going to be a mother now, you need to make sure that you start prioritising that. I don’t want any grandchild of mine sleeping in some filthy tour bus halfway across the country. You also need to remember that children’s ears are sensitive, you do-”

“Mom, it’s okay. I’ve got it. I’ll figure it out.” Connie gently touched her mother’s arm, knowing that she was only trying to help. Connie just wanted her to stop, only knowing that if she were to have continued she would have ruined the moment. 

Priyanka sighed, restraining herself from saying any further as she looked down at the dinner plate that she had failed to wash, simply just staring at it inside of the sink in an abundance of bubbles. Her daughter was independent and could deal with these kinds of things on her own, it was hard for her mother to have accepted that their daughter didn’t need their guidance anymore. 

Even if she tried, she was unsure if she would have even listened. Of course, coming out of college and practicality throwing away years of learning hadn’t been what her parents had advised. Although, it seemed as if things had worked out despite it. Things were...okay. 

“Of course you will. You always do.” Priyanka sighed once more with a smile as she reached over to Connie to dry her hands on the towel she was holding. Connie allowed her to take the towel from her hands, allowing her to dry them. 

Connie immediately dropped the towel and went in for a hug, a hug of confirmation that she had needed in her life for the longest time. Surprisingly, Priyanka dropped the towel to the floor and held her daughter tightly. Connie scrunched up her eyes as she hugged her mom for what felt like the first time in forever, attempting not to cry at the simple words her mother had said. 

“Thanks, Mom.” Connie mumbled into her mom’s shoulder as she tried not to let her emotions flow. 

“You’re welcome, Connie.” Priyanka nearly choked out the words, not wanting Connie to hear the emotion that she felt. 

As the Maheswaran women hugged inside of the kitchen, both Doug and Steven had spent some time bonding. It felt weird for Steven to have tried to make a connection with Connie’s dad, but he was always willing to have made the effort. After they had finished taking the trash out, they just so happened to have found themselves in the garage, the one place where it seemed dominated by Doug’s possessions. 

There was a little desk opposite the parked car that Steven found a lot of his attention focusing on, same with Doug who seemed to have been proud of his achievements. Doug had been trying incredibly hard to like the man since they had first met, considering a lot of their meetings had been awkward or in peculiar settings. 

Admittedly, when Steven had found himself putting a unit together with the man when they first moved into their house, he hadn’t expected the experience to have been quite so intimidating. At first, Doug had thought that the flatpack furniture was going to have been a cot for a baby. Little did he know that eventually, it would have turned out that his nightmare was true. His daughter was pregnant with the one man that he would have never expected. 

Well, never have hoped for, anyway. 

Although, even Doug had to admit that even if he didn’t completely agree with some of Steven’s lifestyle choices - he seemed like a pretty decent guy. Connie seemed to have loved him and it didn’t feel as if he was going anywhere out of her life anytime soon. That meant that Doug certainly was going to have made the effort, or at the very least tried to have started a conversation. 

Thankfully, Steven was the first one to initiate it. 

“These little planes are really cool.” Steven pointed to the top shelf where all of the small models sat, all neatly placed and regularly dusted. The desk had an array of different paints and paintbrushes. There was also a desk lamp and a huge magnifying glass that stuck to the side of the table to help with much more detailed painting. 

“Oh! They’re my models, they are  _ pretty cool _ . I do a lot of painting in my free time - when I get it that is.” Doug folded over his arms and smirked as he turned back to face Steven, noticing him stopping in his tracks to take a look at the work that he had put in over the years. 

“You painted these?” Steven pointed up at the models covering the entirety of the bookshelf beside the desk. It was an impressive amount of figures. He had never seen a collection quite like it. To think that Doug had painted each one of them was insane. 

“Yeah! Each and every one.” Doug stated proudly. 

“That’s amazing, Mr Maheswaran! There’s so much detail to them, you’re really talented!” Steven complimented as he got a little closer to the models, taking note of each stroke of paint and the care and attention that had gone into them. It was super impressive!

“I-I wouldn’t say that. It’s not the same as playing the guitar and being in a band, is it?” Doug blushed at Steven’s comments, feeling a little flustered at the compliments. He certainly hadn’t expected to have heard them from the man. “Y’know...the whole  _ noodly-noodly _ is very impressive.” Doug played an air guitar quickly to finish his point. 

“People are good at different things. I wish I was good at painting little models like this.” Steven pouted. 

“Have you ever tried?” 

“Not...really.”

Doug stepped a little closer as he looked over at all of the models that he had made over the years. He was proud of each of them and the effort that he had put into making them perfect. 

“Maybe next time you come to visit I could show you how the master of paint and pieces does it?” Doug cracked his knuckles, giving Steven a smug grin. 

“Wait. You would do that? Show me how you paint them?” Steven was completely taken back by the offer, a little confused why Doug would have shown him something that seemed to have been so personal to him. It was clearly an important part of Doug’s life. A hobby that he held close. 

“Well, by the sounds of it you’re going to be my future son-in-law, it would be wrong of me not to make an effort. Connie clearly cares about you very much and it looks like you're going to be sticking around. I...I need to learn to do better by Connie and that also means to do better by you." Doug took a step back as he spoke, feeling a little nervous about his choice of words. He wasn't quite sure how Steven was going to take them. 

"Wow, thank you." Steven was speechless, unsure how to react to Doug being so open with him. 

"Which, by the way...if you had any intention of marrying my daughter - why didn't you contact me? Do you have no respect for traditions?" Doug scowled slightly, suddenly changing his tone. 

"I knew that Connie wouldn't have wanted me to ask. She's not your property, she would have disagreed with us ever having the conversation. I wouldn't want to upset her." Steven chewed his bottom lip. Sure, there were many reasons why he didn't contact Doug when he wanted to propose and that was just one of them. 

"You're right." Doug sighed, feeling deflated at the truth. Connie had never been one to agree with that kind of thing and he knew it. 

"I was hoping...even if I did ask that you would say yes." Steven held his hands together as he looked towards Doug with pleading eyes, desperate for his validation. 

Doug pondered on the thought. Would he have said yes? He was still unsure what he thought of Steven, not completely sold on the way that he was. He didn't want his daughter to be dating some drug-taking rockstar, although, that didn't seem to have been the case at all. 

"I'm reading the book. It's...well...it goes over a lot. Kind of makes me sad to know that I found more out about my daughter in five chapters of a book than I have since she left for college. We just miss her and you were the one who took her away." Doug spoke softly, despite the last comment feeling harsh to Steven - Doug's tone never changed.

"Oh." Steven felt put on the spot with worry. 

"Although, reading the book it's made me realise how you are as a person - or at the very least how Connie sees you. It's important to me that she's safe and she's happy. You seem to tick all those boxes, despite…I can't believe she's pregnant." Doug pinched the bridge of his nose, enough for him to push his glasses up slightly. It was the same motion that Connie often did when she was frustrated and Steven noticed the similar gesture. 

Steven didn't know how he could have responded to that. He had gotten his girlfriend pregnant and her father was a little upset about that matter. Connie was a grown woman and could have made her own choices, but it was one that Doug hadn't expected so soon. 

"I'm sor-" Steven began. 

"Don't. Stop. I don't want to think about it. It just  _ is _ ." Doug pinched his nose again, shaking his head in the process. He suddenly stood up straight and took a deep breath, puffing his chest out slightly as he positioned himself in front of Steven. "I hope you know that I'm a trained security guard and my job doesn't just include protecting the people of Beach City from loitering teenagers, that also means that I have every right to protect my daughter from men like you." 

Steven blinked rapidly at Doug. Not again. He didn't want to be on their bad side, he thought that things were going well! 

"I mean no disrespect, Mr. Maheswaran - but Connie can look after herself. She doesn't need me or you for protection. She's really strong, mind and body! I would never do anything to bring any harm to her. Connie and the baby are my top priority and I will do anything and everything to be a good father and husband when the time comes." Steven made sure to adjust his posture as he took his stance with Connie's father. He wasn't going to let his guard down no matter what. He knew that Doug was testing him, at least, that's what he believed he was doing. 

"I'll admit, I didn't expect that from you." Doug chuckled slightly at the pep Steven had shown, taken back by the words he had used to keep his standing. There was no way that Steven was going to have allowed Doug to make any more wrong assumptions. 

It was clear that he was going to have been reading the book and that meant that Doug would have been making assumptions about him the entire time that he was reading. Although, that also meant that Doug was going to have read the part that he didn’t want anyone to have read. Steven wanted to have been afraid of that, but he knew that Doug had already come to that conclusion about him early on in their meeting. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to speak to you that way.” Steven held his hands out in front of him, not wanting to cause any offence to Mr Maheswaran. The last thing he wanted to have done is to make him upset with his words. 

“It’s okay. It’s good to know that you’re willing to stand up for what you believe in - just like Connie. How did you...uh...how did you propose to her?” Doug suddenly became a little more interested in them as people as he pushed any previous harsh feelings out of the way. He suddenly wanted to have shown his support for the young couple. 

“I tried for a long time to find the most perfect moment. I thought that she only deserved the best and I couldn’t give it to her.” Steven looked down sadly, wishing that he was able to give the most perfect proposal to the love of his life. If not for Connie, then he knew that her parents would have approved slightly. “Turned out that it was perfect in a different way. I proposed at the Philip Butler party.” Steven shrugged with a slight smile, unable to feel giddy about the whole night that he had shared with Connie. It was amazing.

“In front of loads of people?” Doug was a little shocked at the idea. 

“N-no! We went into the garden outside for some air and I just decided that was as perfect as it was going to get. Admittedly, it made me realise that any time would have been perfect as long as we were together. I...I’m really grateful to be with Connie. I love her a lot and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.” Steven looked away slightly as he spoke, holding his hands together in the process. 

It felt strange for him to have admitted his feelings to Doug. It was something that he wasn’t sure if he should have shared or not. Either way, if he was proving the fact that he wanted to have been with Connie, Doug was content with listening. It was clear that no matter if they disapproved or not, Steven had made a huge impact on Connie’s life and was never going to have gone away. 

They were in love. 

“That does sound like something that Connie would enjoy. I’m glad she liked it. As much as I always seem to never approve of you both together, I’m happy that she’s happy. I’m glad that you found each other.” Doug practically gritted his teeth together as he spoke before loosening up. He had a lot of feelings on the subject, most of which he shared with his wife. 

“Thank you, Mr Maheswaran.” Steven smiled, pleased to have made some kind of impression on him. 

“Doug. You can call me, Doug.” Doug nodded happily, in a strange way, Steven couldn’t help but feel as if there was some kind of acceptance. A way of them moving forward with the awkward relationship that they usually held.

“Thank you, Doug.” Steven grinned, knowing that the next time he was in the garage with Connie’s father he hoped to have been helping his father-in-law painting little planes. 

Eventually, everyone went to bed. Steven and Connie needed to go to bed early so that they could wake up in the morning and catch a train back to Baltimore to meet back up with Max before taking a flight over to Florida - their last stop on the tour. 

Steven found himself staring at the ceiling of the Maheswaran living room underneath a couple of blankets that her parents had provided for him. It was weird spending a night away from Connie after they had reconnected and yet despite them not being together, he didn’t feel alone. He felt at peace knowing that Connie was in the room above him. 

He felt like he was part of the family. 

A Maheswaran. 

Steven smiled as he texted Connie goodnight with lots of kisses before turning over and falling asleep. 


	18. Orlando, FL

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last stop.

Connie hadn’t exactly liked the idea of Steven sleeping downstairs throughout the night, but she wasn’t going to have argued with her parents when it came to anything of the sort. Although, Connie had been woken up to sweet texts from Steven, despite him only being downstairs. It didn’t matter though, she loved the fact that she had received them. 

Most of them only served to have been sweet and she was more than happy to have looked at them over and over before thinking of a response. They were always dorky and sweet - filled with emojis. It made her smile whenever she thought back to the memory of when Steven had inputted his name into her phone at the side of the road when the van had broken down on the first tour. 

The little guitar emoji that he had inputted was still there. Although, over time Steven had taken her phone and placed a small love heart beside it too. Connie didn’t mind - she loved it being there. The last thing she would have ever wanted to have done was to have changed it to something else. 

Eventually, Connie made her way downstairs and joined both Steven and her parents for breakfast. They both knew that they needed to have been back in New York as soon as possible so that they could get to Florida. It didn’t help that the flight was a couple of hours, so they needed to leave as soon as possible so that they could get there in time. 

Max was still waiting in Baltimore for them. Due to how early it was, she was probably still in bed. 

The Maheswarans didn’t mind waking up at such an hour considering for their work they spent a lot of time waking up at weird hours to complete unorthodox shift patterns. They were more than happy to have sat and eaten breakfast with the couple and then waved them off on the doorstep when they finally left. 

Steven shovelled the toast into his mouth, unsure when they next would have been able to eat. He suspected it wouldn’t have been until they were in Florida, but even then it felt as if that was going to have been too far away. He was happy to have spent the day travelling, as long as they had enough snacks to tide them over for the hours that they spent being stuck inside of some kind of vehicle. 

Priyanka and Doug didn’t comment on much in the morning, but they sat and ate breakfast with them as if they were a normal family - all as one. Steven enjoyed seeing this new kind of normality. There wasn’t the same kind of awkwardness that he had experienced just weeks before when they had gone out to a fancy restaurant for lunch. 

It felt bizarre for Steven to have been in the family home, but it felt nice. He had been invited in they truly wanted him there. As if perhaps that was where he belonged the entire time. It was nice to have thought about it that way. Nice to know that things would have been improving all the time. 

The more time that Steven tried his hardest to spend with the Maheswaran parents, the more they would have liked him. Sure, things were never going to have been perfect for them - but perfect wasn't everything. Steven had learnt that the hard way after fighting months and months to try and propose to the love of his life. 

“So, Florida is the last stop and then you’re home?” Doug asked as they stood opposite the couple inside of the living room as they waited for the Toober to pull up. Both Steven and Connie held onto the backpacks that they had taken with them for the stay. 

“Yep! It’ll be nice to finally get back home to Nashville.” Connie confirmed, smiling over at Steven. She sure would have loved for them to have flopped down on their bed back at home and slept for an entire day. 

That was Connie’s plan, she was hoping that Steven would have been down with the same activity. That and ordering takeout. That would have been the perfect day for them both when they went home. Life would have been good. Better than ever. 

“I hope that you have safe travels and remember to always stick together. I’ve heard  _ things _ about Florida and the people there.” Priyanka whispered slightly as if someone was going to have been able to hear her. 

“Mom!” Connie practically gasped, even if her mother had her opinions, she wished that she would have kept them to herself until she left. It wasn’t fair that she had to listen to them. 

“I’m just repeating what I’ve heard, Connie. Nothing scandalous.” Her mom shook her head as she folded over her arms. 

There was the sound of a car engine outside as Steven’s phone pinged, indicating that the Toober was waiting for them outside. It was going to have been a long journey in the car before they got to the train station, but it would have been worth it. Steven knew that he was going to have fallen asleep on the train and then maybe the plane. 

“Oh, we’ve got to go. Our ride is here.” Connie glanced over to the door. For once in her life, it felt as if she didn’t exactly want to leave her home. Things had gone well. Too well. She felt as if she belonged there. 

A home. 

“Well, thank you for coming. It’s been nice to see you both.” Priyanka nodded at the couple. Steven felt his heart skip a beat at the idea that he had become a part of the conversation. 

“Thank you so much for letting me stay the night, Mr and Dr Maheswaran. You have a lovely home!” Steven held onto the straps of his backpack as he stood by the door, ready to leave. It was nice to have been able to thank them for the hospitality that they had shown. 

“Thank you, Steven. We’re glad you could make it. Hope you stop by and visit the next time you’re touring.” Doug smirked.

“I’ll make sure of it!” Steven knew that he wouldn’t have passed up on any opportunity to have bonded with Connie’s parents. 

Priyanka stepped over to Connie and stood directly in front of her. She silently gripped onto her daughter’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes. 

“You’ll call if you need anything? Anything at all?” Priyanka questioned as she held onto her only child. 

“Yes, Mom. I’ll call.” Connie found herself automatically falling into her mother’s chest for another tight hug. It felt incredibly strange for them to have shown any kind of love for her. Any kind of affection. 

It hadn’t been even remotely like this since before Connie had left for college. Even then, things didn’t feel this...good. It felt as if her parents had spent the past couple of years trying to figure out how they were going to have accepted Connie as an adult. 

It took her to go on multiple tours and to have published a book before anything of the sort came around. They would never have completely approved of the lifestyle that she was living, but at least they were going to have made the effort to have tried. She appreciated that.

She needed the support now more than ever and she was thankful for it. 

Maybe the distance was what they needed?

Her mother held her tightly in return, feeling as if there was no other way that she was going to have been able to show her love for her mother at that moment. She needed her to know that despite everything, they were still mother and daughter. They deserved that at the very least. 

There was a sudden beep from outside, indicating that the couple needed to move else the Toober wouldn’t have waited around for them for much longer. 

“You two better go else you’ll miss your train!” Doug instructed, trying to get the couple out of the door in the nicest way possible. A part of him wanted them to have stayed for longer, but he knew that wasn’t going to have been an option. There was always another day. 

“I’ll come and visit you soon!” Connie chuckled as she opened the front door and stepped outside into the cold morning weather. It was still dark outside. 

“And Steven! It was great to see you, congratulations on the engagement.” Priyanka found herself stepping on the doorstep with her husband and Steven and Connie piled out of the door and stood outside. 

Priyanka had mentioned the engagement as if it was a good thing. It  _ was _ a good thing. It was something that they both very much loved the idea of. It felt strange for it to come out of Priyanka’s mouth as something incredibly positive. 

Either way, Steven couldn’t wipe the stupid smile off his face as he heard the words of confirmation from his future mother-in-law. 

“Thank you! Can’t wait to see you again soon!” Steven waved with a wide smile as Connie tugged on his opposite arm as a way to get them to stop saying goodbye. If they were going to have stood around saying their goodbyes all day then they would have been late! If they didn’t get there on time then they would have been late for the last book signing of the tour and that wouldn’t have looked good. 

“Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!” Connie waved in response as she turned around as she walked away to acknowledge them. Without her even thinking about the words, they simply tumbled out of her lips. “I love you!” 

The Maheswarans didn’t make a big deal about the words. They were words that they had wanted to hear from their daughter for a long time. It felt nice to know that the way that she had said them seemed genuine. She truly wanted to have shown the fact that she loved them still, despite the number of times that they had clashed with one another. 

Overall, the distance between them had done them good. She couldn’t believe that they had finally been able to give her the room for her to breathe in her own life. They had given her the independence that she needed and most importantly - the confirmation for her to have done it. 

“We love you too, Connie.” Doug waved as he held onto Priyanka with one arm, watching Steven take Connie’s bag and throw it into the back of the car. 

“Travel safely!” Priyanka added as the couple piled into the car.

“See you soon, bye!” Connie waved once more before closing the car door behind her. 

“Bye! Thanks for having me!” Steven grinned over the opposite side of the car, waving again before getting inside the car. 

As Steven got inside of the car and Connie’s parents stood on their doorstep continuing to wave at them both as the vehicle pulled off and the couple disappeared. Steven readjusted himself in the seat before turning towards Connie with a smile, the only way they could see one another was with the light from the streetlights as they passed. 

“I think they like me.” Steven grinned, reaching over and holding onto Connie’s hand without warning. She didn’t mind, happy to have allowed him to have taken it. His hands were warm and inviting. 

“I think they like me too!” Connie laughed, knowing exactly what she meant. There was no way that they didn’t like her, but she was referring more to the idea that she was finally in a position where it felt as if they had accepted her and the lifestyle that she lived. 

It felt strange to know. It felt strange to think about. Connie just wanted to have some kind of common ground with her parents and she couldn’t have helped but thought that maybe she had reached that in some way. She wasn’t going to have held out on anything, but it felt good to know that there was some kind of improvement to it all. 

“They’re reading the book! Well, your dad is at the very least!” Steven explained as they sat together in the back of the Toober. They seemed to have been on time to have caught the early train and that was going to have been a timesaver in itself. A little less rushing around. 

“He is? That...explains a few things.” Connie was shocked to have heard the news. She knew that they would have taken a look inside eventually, they wouldn’t have been able to resist to see if she had written anything about them. 

The only things that she had put inside of the book about her parents were the way that they didn’t quite understand the lifestyle that she wanted to live. The way that they didn’t quite get the way that it brought her happiness when that was all that she had wanted to do. She had managed to have put it in words a lot better inside of the book than she ever would have been able to in person. 

At least they would haven’t been able to argue with her before she had gotten the chance to have made her point. They weren’t going to have started an argument with a book. Well, she wasn’t too sure about what her dad would have done. 

Although, it felt nice to know that they were making the effort to have read the story. A story that meant a lot to her and one that she hoped they would have eventually looked at. 

There were a lot of things inside of the book that she wouldn’t have exactly been comfortable sharing with her parents, but they would have found out certain things eventually. The things that she had written about Steven also included assumptions that she had already mentioned to them in the past. At least, ones that they had assumed about Steven. 

Although, Steven hadn’t been afraid to share some of his past with Doug the last time that they had met. It hadn’t gone down very well, but at the very least, he had made him somewhat aware. It wouldn’t have been so much of a shock when they decided to read certain parts of the book. 

“Your dad showed me the planes he painted.” Steven explained, wishing that in a moment he could spend the remainder of the journey asleep. He didn’t want to admit quite how tired he was after spending the night on the couch. It wasn’t that it was uncomfortable, but he would have much preferred to have been in bed beside Connie. Even then, it wasn't as if they had many hours to sleep. 

“He did? He must really like you then. He doesn’t show anyone his planes until they’re  _ in _ .” Connie laughed, thinking about how good of an impression Steven must have made on them for her father to have shown off his hobbies. It felt nice to know that they were both in a position where they were in a good place with her parents. 

Unlike the time when they had both visited the UK. That had been completely different. 

“I’m just glad that they like me...sort of.” 

“I’m surprised that after all of this time of them trying to get you out of my life, they finally give in  _ after _ you got me pregnant  _ and _ you proposed.” Connie laughed, unable to quite comprehend how all of that had happened. Even though she wasn’t exactly planning on telling them about the baby, that had turned out the way that she wasn’t expected either. 

It had turned out for the better and that was the greatest part about it. 

Not only did she not have to live with the guilt of not telling her parents as her stomach got bigger and bigger - but they didn’t hate her. They didn’t want to disown her. 

At least, if they did they hadn’t verbalised it in a way that made it seem as if they hated her for what she had done. It didn’t seem as if she was a disgrace to the family, like she once thought that she was. It was strange to think. Her mother had even hugged her - twice!

It was unheard of for the Maheswaran parents to have been so loving in such a short space of time. It had made Connie internally question if something was going on that she didn’t know about, but even if there was - she was glad that it was causing them to have been nice to her and Steven. It certainly made Steven feel better about it, enough to make Connie want to return to visit her parents at some point. 

The next time she may have even invited Steven, knowing for well that even if they were eventually married that he would still have to sleep on the couch. It was just the way it was going to have to be and if it meant that her parents were going to have been nice to them both, then sleeping on the couch wouldn’t have been so bad. Steven was happy to have done it. 

After getting out of the Toober and finding themselves on a train for a while, Connie made sure to keep herself awake as she watched the countryside pass them as they went all the way from Empire City to Baltimore. Steven rested halfway on her shoulder, trying to catch up on some well-needed sleep. 

If anyone needed sleep, it would have been Connie. She needed to have kept her energy up, especially now that she knew she was pregnant. Things were different now and it was still weird for her to have thought about. There was no way she was ever going to have been able to get over the fact there was a human growing inside of her. There was something so bizarre and weird about it.

Everything about it. 

As she looked out of the window of the train she thought about how different things were going to have been when they got home. She knew that Steven’s first port of call would have been to baby-proof the house and continue to go on shopping sprees to spoil the baby even before it was born. That was the sort of thing that Steven would have done and she knew that she was going to have to stop him from doing so. 

Another thing that she would have to think about was the fact that they would have eventually gotten married. Connie knew that she wanted to get the pregnancy out of the way before she even considered what she wanted for her wedding, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to start flipping through magazines for ideas.

Well, she may have to look online to see if she could pick a venue that she would have preferred in the Nashville area. That would have been the first thing on her list to have thought about when it came to any kind of wedding. Then again, she knew that Steven probably would have been the better option to have picked out things for the wedding. 

When she was writing her book, she would always get distracted as Steven watched the television. He would often watch reality television shows that revolved around weddings and planning them. Especially shows that included husbands trying to plan out the perfect day for their wives to be. 

Connie knew that his love for romance meant that whenever the husband got something wrong that the wife wouldn’t like he would have simply scoffed at the television and scowled at the idea of the husband being selfish and going against everything that the bride wanted. It was a partnership. Why wouldn’t they have listened to what they both wanted? 

The thing that got to Connie the most was when he was watching the shows and she was on her laptop writing, she would often look over and notice him crying whenever it got to the very end of the show. It was always the moment that they smiled at one another down the aisle. That was the point where he cried the most. 

He was a sweetheart and Connie couldn’t wait to see what he would have planned in his head. Something that she knew he would have probably thought about since he was a kid. Since he could fathom the idea of spending his life being in love with one person. 

Connie glanced over and noticed that Steven’s mouth was slightly ajar as he slept on her shoulder, letting out an adorable little snore. Connie couldn’t help but smile before planting a small kiss on his forehead to let him know that she was still there. She watched him shuffle slightly at the touch before his lips curled into a smile, keeping his eyes shut. 

It wasn’t long before they found themselves inside of Baltimore, ready to have met up with Max now they were in the same city. They had decided to meet at the hotel and then head over to the airport together as Max had their suitcases in her room. There was no way that she was going to have been able to carry three suitcases to a Toober and then check every single one into the airport. 

Max was pretty strong, but not  _ that _ strong. 

“Guys! I had the craziest night. You won’t believe it.” Max held her hands out in front of her, unable to quite comprehend the night that she had. 

“What is it? You didn’t get arrested, did you?” Connie cocked an eyebrow as they all stood inside of Max’s hotel room. Steven stepped to the other side of the room to grab his suitcase as they both contently listened to the story that she was about to tell. 

“What? No! Not this time. I mean, I could have done. The show was really cool!” Max gasped, unsure how she was going to have been able to tell the story with a straight face. Everything had been so weird. 

“Oh? You saw the band? Proper are really good, I hope that they rocked as much live as they do on their records.” Steven was pleased to know that Max had gone to see one of his many favourite artists. He hoped to have one day toured with a band like them, happy to know that Max loved them just as much. 

“Proper were amazing! Aside from Star Destroyers, by all means, the best band I’ve ever seen live. I couldn’t recommend them enough. I haven’t uploaded everything to Instasnap just yet, but when I do - it’s going to be sick!” Max got a little excited at the thought. 

“The story? Didn’t something crazy happen?” Connie tried to make sure that Max would continue on track with the story. 

“Right. The story. Now...it all starts halfway through the show where I thought I had met the love of my life at the bar. He brought my imaginary friend a drink and then my friend pointed out that he was in fact - the frontman of the band.” Max gasped. 

“Max! That’s...you know what that is.” Connie pushed the palm of her hand against her forehead as Max jokingly replicated a story similar to that of the one where Steven and Connie had met. The half-assed story made Steven giggle. 

“Sorry. Getting my stories mixed up.” Max scratched her head. “Anyway, I was at the show and there was this hot girl there. Not going to lie, I'm not always swinging on that team, but last night I felt like I had to. Fucking labels. I don’t know. Anyway, she looked good - fun, y’know? I started to talk to her and she was super into emo bands, so I decided that I was going to flex my business. Well, Greg’s business. The fact that I am a cool ass promoter for a bunch of bands and a book tour! Dude, I was going to get so much pussy and peen if I continued, people were  _ flocking _ to me.” Max scoffed as she brushed her shoulders. 

“I don’t like where this story is going…” Connie smirked slightly at the thought. She remembered stories similar when they were back in college and if she knew Max - she knew where the story may have ended up. It wasn’t going to have been pleasant. 

“It’s going to blow your mind. I went to this chick’s  _ house _ . Like...a big booty Baltimore house. I have no idea why, she was probably after my kidneys or something. I was a little bit drunk and that was fine, but damn girl - this chick had a Lamborgini! I think her name was Samantha? Simon? Simone? Sarah? Jennifer? I...I don’t remember, but that isn’t important!” Max began to speak faster than either Steven or Connie could comprehend. 

“You just went to her house? That’s...I thought you didn’t do that.” Steven furrowed his eyebrows, knowing all too well how one night stands work. He very rarely went to stay in someone’s house and if he did, he knew he would have been kicked out before ever getting the chance to sleep. He wasn’t going to have been able to sleep there so there was no point. At least inside of a hotel room, he could have fallen asleep and they would have left him. It wouldn’t have been the other way around. 

“Not usually - but she told me she had a Lamborghini! Why wouldn’t I go? I thought I would get to sit in it or something. Anyway, I thought things were going fine until we got to the bedroom…”

“Do I need to cover the baby’s ears?” Steven immediately jumped over to Connie, gently placing his hands on either side of her stomach and causing her to laugh. 

“Dude, it’s like...the size of a pebble. It doesn’t have ears and I know it’s probably heard some shit already you dirty bastards.” Max shook her head.

“Continue the story. I want to know if you got to ride in the Lamborghini.” Connie tried to push as a way to get her to continue the story. 

“N-no, I didn’t get to ride the Lamborghini! Stupid. I did get to make out with this person though and it was super hot. Uh, but then it got a little weird. She told me to take my shoes off and then my socks off...first? Like... _ first _ \- before anything else…” Max’s eyes widened at the memory. 

“That sounds polite, maybe they just had a new carpet fitted?” Steven added.

Connie gave Steven a look. 

“I don’t think it was about carpet, dude. I was wearing Christmas socks! I also really didn’t want to have to unlace my Docs, that’s the sort of shit that I save until last - or y’know...not at all. This is why I was wishing that we could have boned in the Lambo. Either way, I  _ ran _ in my socks and my boots as fast as I could! I didn’t want to get involved in some freaky deaky feet shit. She didn’t even give me any warning!” Max shook her head rapidly, a little shaken up from the experience. 

“You just left?” 

“I  _ bolted _ .” 

“Well, at least you came back to the hotel in one piece.” 

“I’m glad she didn’t steal my kidneys to be fair, I was probably asking for it.” Max held herself as she shook slightly, a little freaked out by the experience. She was fine with people being into whatever they wanted, but Max was all about doing the  _ do _ and leaving. There didn’t need to be anything else involved.  _ Anything _ else. 

“Now that we have that incredibly inappropriate story about Max’s sex life out of the way, should we go to the airport?” Connie sighed with a smile, happy that even though they were going to their last signing she was pleased that it was going to have been the last. 

It felt like for the first time that she had been on the entire tour she was excited about being on tour for once. The rest of the times that she had been to signings there was always something that she wasn’t quite pleased about and it had been annoying her from the very beginning. 

“We shall! I’ll discuss this more later, I really need to...vent, y’know? I’m just  _ mad _ .” Max sighed, Connie realising that the weird story may have gotten to Max a little more than she had hoped. Connie knew that if she had to listen to a strange story over and over then she would have to make sure that Max was okay. 

It wouldn’t have been the first time that Max had retreated from a sexual situation. She claimed to always have been a fan of the ‘fuck and flee’, but often ended up fleeing more than she did fucking. Some people were just weird and some people were just too boring, there needed to have been a good balance for Max and sometimes that just wasn’t there. 

Connie would have never forgotten the show that they went to earlier on during the year where they had stayed inside of a hotel overnight. Max had come knocking at the early hours of the morning claiming that there was someone inside of her hotel room that she didn’t want to speak to, so had fled to Steven and Connie’s room as a means of escape. She didn’t want to be anywhere near them and sleeping at the foot of her best friend and her best friend’s boyfriend's bed was the only way to have survived throughout the night. 

Steven and Connie didn’t mind. For the most part. Max was an important part of their lives and they knew that she never would have shared the same kind of love that they shared for each other with anyone. It just wasn’t her style. All they needed to do was to make sure that they were always great friends to her no matter what. The last thing they wanted was for her to have been alone, it didn’t matter how many cactuses she brought to prove a point - they weren’t going to have let her be on her own. 

They were all a team and Max was happy to have been a part of it. 

“Time to go to Florida!” Steven cheered a little bit at the thought. There were a lot of things there that he would have liked to explore, but he knew there wouldn’t have been enough time. If anything, as soon as they had finished with the tour the one thing that he wanted to have done was to have gotten home as soon as he could. 

Travelling to Orlando took them hours, but brought them into the early afternoon when they had all gotten sandwiches at the airport. They were overpriced, but they all enjoyed them. Max noticed that both Steven and Connie were in a position that no matter what they did they seemed to have been happy. 

She had pressed about what had happened when they had gone to Beach City whilst they were on the plane and was happy to hear that it had all gone well. She did find it hilarious that Steven had to sleep on the couch and wouldn’t have been able to let it go. It was super funny. 

The best part about it was the fact that even though Steven had already knocked Connie up - he still wasn’t allowed to sleep in the same bed as when they visited her parents. That was like...every single romantic comedy movie that Max had ever seen. It was perfect. 

“We get to go to Disney, right? When the kid is born?” Max questioned as they found themselves in Orlando airport, noticing all of the advertisements for the Disney park in the area. Not only that, but the airport was buzzing with tourists, a couple of them even taking the trip a little too far by wearing the mouse ears that represented the mascot of the park. 

“Nope.” Connie shook her head. There was no way in hell she was going to have conformed to something so capitalist. Feeding into the mouse and what they stood for would have gone against everything that she believed in. 

It felt as if it was unavoidable to give them some kind of money throughout your lifetime, but that didn’t mean that Connie wasn’t going to have at least tried to make sure that she didn’t continue to make the rich richer. 

Steven’s face dropped at the thought. He knew that Connie didn’t agree with the principles of the park or even the organisation that ran it. Although, he had at least hoped that Connie would have allowed for them to have gone somewhere so ‘magical’, knowing that any kid of his would have had a bunch of fun by going. 

“Once? We could go once?” Steven pouted slightly, not wanting to push too far into the question.

“I don’t think it would be right to continue to feed into the billionaire's pockets. Disney is nothing but a plague to this society and has brainwashed this country into believing that it’s a right of passage to go to their overpriced theme parks. They continue to make mass amounts of money from exploiting parents into buying merchandise and tickets for rides that last seconds. It’s not worth the money or the hassle that it takes to get there. No child of mine will ever step foot inside somewhere so...materialistic. It’s just not right.” Connie shook her head, making sure to make her point a little louder so that the people around her could hear all of her points. 

“So, we’ll take the kid together when Connie’s not looking - right?” Max leant over to Steven and whispered. Steven nodded slowly. 

Connie knew that Max was joking. They never would have taken her child away from her so that they could go to some theme park that she didn’t approve of. At least if they were going to have taken their kid to any kind of theme park, it was going to have been one run by a local business. Although, with that, she was going to have to check to make sure that the rides had all been safety checked. She wasn’t going to have let her kid ride on some greasy carnie’s merry-go-round. 

“We’ve got a signing to get to, guys. Last one!” Connie insisted as they pulled their suitcases along. The sooner that they got to the signing, the better it would have been. 

Luckily, from the airport, it didn’t take them very long to pile into the last hotel that they would have been staying in before making their way to the bookstore. Like every time before, Max and Connie set up the table for the signing before Connie would go off and take a minute before introducing everyone to the event. This would usually have been followed by a reading of a small excerpt from the book. 

This time, when Connie found herself standing up in front of the small group of people that were all there to see her read her book and then follow it with a signing, she felt some kind of unsung confidence. She glanced down at her finger as she held the book, noticing the engagement ring before looking up and seeing Steven off to the side of her. She watched him give her a thumbs up for encouragement. 

It felt nice to know that even after everything that they had been through together on this tour he was still willing to have supported her throughout it all. It was important for her to have taken note of how much love he continued to show for her. There was no way that he was going to have stopped any time soon. 

She took her mark in front of all of the people as she looked over at Max who simply nodded at her before folding over her arms. She was forever grateful for her best friend for helping to set everything up for her and to have continued to be a supportive friend throughout. There was no way that she was ever going to have found someone to replace Max. 

Connie cleared her throat as she looked out at all of the people in front of her that were there because they wanted to hear her read a section from her book. They were there because they wanted to be there. They were there because they wanted to see Connie Maheswaran talk about the book that went over all of the events of the past couple of years of her life.

It still felt strange to Connie to know that there were people in the world who had read her book and had finally got some kind of insight to who she was as a person and who she eventually wanted to be. Originally, that certainly hadn’t been ‘mom’ at the time of writing, but it was something that she had to consider now. Something that she wouldn’t have ever been able to stop thinking about. 

“Welcome, everyone, for coming to this event today! This is the last stop on the tour and I have to admit...it’s been a little bit of a ride to get here. I could write a whole other book about it!” Connie laughed as the crowd chuckled along with her. Connie noticed that despite not quite having the confidence when she was a teenager, she had managed to become slightly more charismatic. She knew that it was partially down to Steven helping her break out of her shell. 

“I’m going to read a section of the book today and then I’ll open up the floor for anyone to ask questions if they wish.”

Connie breathed deeply as she thought about what she wanted from her last reading. She wanted people to listen to her as they had done time and time again. Although, it felt as if people were not taking her seriously at some of the signings that she had attended in the past. This one felt different. 

This one felt like every single person in the crowd wanted to be there for her. To listen to what she had to say about the book and its contents. 

It felt strange. Perhaps this was what all of the signings were like when she had attended them before? They were. The problem was, she had spent far too much of her time ignoring the people that she needed to pay attention to. It felt as if her anxiety had overtaken her so much that she couldn't have seen the full picture. 

There had been people there for her since the very beginning, but she had blinded herself so much that it was hard for her to have seen the truth. It was hard for her to have gotten to a place where she could see how much people cared about her and the book. Sure, there was plenty of people that were there because of Steven, but without Steven, she wouldn’t have been able to write the book in the first place. 

That and...she loved him too much. She could never continue to deny the fact that she wanted him there. She wanted him there with her the entire time, but she felt she was too selfish to have admitted it. The fight that they had involved a lot of her selfishness, but she knew that there was a part that was also on Steven for the way that he had acted. 

Although, everything was fine now and everything felt like it was in the right place. Connie was pleased to know that she was happy and that the people in the crowd were smiling back at her waiting to hear the excerpt that she wanted to read them. 

Connie flicked through the book to find the section that she wanted to read. A part that she knew would have been good for them all to have heard. A section that would allow even her to reflect on how she had felt on the first tour and how her perspectives had changed throughout the time that she had known Steven. 

“ _ It was weird for me to have said that I was terrified of his confidence. Even in the way that he walked, I noticed that he held his shoulders well. His posture was that of someone with authority. At least, that's what I thought. This man was someone who had plenty of people chasing after him day after day - he had enough confidence to see him through most things. He had more confidence than me when it came to interacting with others. I always remember the first time that I found myself closer to Steven than any night before. It was the night where I found out that we were going to have been offering our motel room to the band. I wasn’t particularly fond of the idea, especially considering we were the ones who had paid for it. Max was a good samaritan and wanted to make sure the band had somewhere to stay, not only that, but I knew that she was excited about the idea and I couldn’t have denied her that. Despite us being the ones to invite the band into the motel room so that they had somewhere to stay for the night...I somehow ended up on the floor. How? My best friend had kicked me out of a bed so that she could share them with her favourite band. I wanted to be mad and at the time I was pretty angry about it, but I understood why and I understood why I was the one that was now on the floor of a dirty motel room picking up all sorts of illnesses. Thankfully, I didn’t get sick from the experience. I did feel something else though.”  _ Connie turned the page of the book before continuing. 

“ _ That night was the first night that I had spent sleeping beside Steven. It was a new experience. Even if I was going to have spent the night beside him at some point, I hadn't expected the first time for us to have been laying on the floor with one another because our friends had kicked us out of the beds. A part of me thought that maybe they had set it up. Maybe Steven had paired us off on purpose? I had no idea if he even liked me at that point, but it was obvious that something was going on inside of his mind. There was certainly something going on inside of mine, despite the fact my anxiety wasn’t going to have allowed for me to have shown it. I remember the floor being uncomfortable, but with Steven beside me, it was somewhat of an experience that I wouldn’t have been able to forget. We joked a lot about the things that we may have found on the floor or the harm that may have come from any kind of killer rat sneaking up on us during the night. Steven made what would have been a lonely and scary night on the floor of a dark motel one that made me feel less like an idiot for letting my friend overtake my decision of allowing the band to stay inside of the motel room with us.”  _

“ _ I was most impressed with the way that he kept a smile on his face the entire time. He knew that I wasn’t enjoying myself, just like the time he had helped me outside of the back of the venue when things had become overwhelming. He was a caring individual that wanted to do anything and everything he could to make sure I was comfortable in a place that he knew would make me anxious. I thought a lot that night on how he was feeling as he laid beside me, whether or not he was feeling the same things that I was. Whether or not all of that confidence he held was more of an act or whether it was something he genuinely had about himself. Just like the many silly names he had come up for us already, ‘floor buds’ was now added to the list. He could have thought of a million different names for us as a pair and I would have listened to every one of them. I wanted to know who Steven Universe really was and how he managed to hold such a great burden on his shoulders whilst continuing to be one of the kindest people I had ever met in my entire life. _ ” Connie slowly closed the book as she looked over at Steven for a supportive smile. 

There was nothing that they both loved more than being able to support one another in the pursuits that they tried. With Steven it was music and for Connie, it was the book. They would have been beside one another no matter what. There was no way that they weren’t going to try their hardest to support each other when they needed it the most. 

Connie allowed people to ask her questions about the book and anything else that they may have wanted to have known about her. Thankfully, most of the questions were about the book and even one of them was for Steven. She knew that if this would have been earlier on the tour that the question may have irritated her, but at this point, she didn’t mind. 

The thing that she was most scared about was the idea that her parents would have found out about the proposal. Except now, they knew all about it. She thought about how nice it would have been for her to have shared the love that they shared for one another with everyone else. Wasn’t that what the book was all about? 

Loving Steven Universe…

He loved her so much that it hurt. He couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky of a man he was as he watched her speaking so passionately about the book that she had spent all year on. The book that she had poured all of her time and effort into and he would have happily listened to her go on about it all day every day. 

It was a book about how much she loved him. It was something that he was never going to have been able to forget. It was going to have been there forever. Printed. 

She loved him. So much!

“I’ve read the book and I was just wondering if it's ever put a strain on your relationship? You two seem pretty in love, but I can’t help but feel as if nothing can be  _ that _ perfect. You write a lot about your time in the UK and the strain that you felt, but...that was mostly due to other things that were going on around you. Do you two ever...fight?” A ginger-haired teenager in glasses questioned Connie as they stood inside the crowd. 

It wasn’t the first time that Connie had received this kind of question, although, it felt as if she was better equipped now more than ever to have answered it. Now she had been through the book tour with Steven and noticed the strain that it had put on their relationship at that point, it was clear that it wasn’t always going to have been sunshine and rainbows. 

Connie looked over at Steven and couldn’t help but laugh slightly. Steven smiled back with a small chuckle. It felt nice to know that in that moment in time that they were free to have joked about something that had seriously taken a toll on their relationship throughout the tour. Fighting with one another hadn’t been something that they had wanted to do, but it was certainly something that they couldn’t help. 

“Well, funny you say that. We, uh...we had a lot of disagreements over this last tour when we went to all of the signings. I think it would have been wrong to have painted a perfect picture inside of the books because it simply wouldn’t have been true. I love Steven more than anything, but that doesn’t mean that sometimes we don’t disagree over little things.” Connie self-consciously touched her stomach as she kept looking back to Steven to gauge his reactions as she spoke about him. “Tour is very stressful, but this time we’ve managed to have a few things happen to us that have made it a little harder to deal with. Sure, some of them were things that we couldn’t particularly solve at the time - others were just things that came at the wrong time.” 

Steven knew exactly what she was referring to. He wasn’t sure if Connie was going to have shared whether or not they were engaged with the crowd. Either way, he wasn’t entirely bothered. It didn’t matter to him, as long as she was happy. 

He had always opted to try and have more of a private life, but with the band getting bigger and Connie’s book being published - he knew that wouldn’t have been an option. That was also something that just came with being Rose Quartz son too. That didn’t help. 

Connie decided that she wasn’t going to have shared with the crowd the things that had happened to them within the tour. They would have found out eventually on social media. Even if Connie was going to have tried her hardest to make sure that the baby stayed out of the public eye as much as possible. She certainly didn’t want her child to grow up with any kind of excessive luxury or live a childhood similar to one that Steven had been brought up in. 

Their kid wasn’t going to have gotten the rockstar treated and she certainly wouldn’t have allowed her to have grown up in a tour bus. It was bad enough that was where they were conceived. 

Yikes. 

After Connie had spent a vast amount of time listening to everyone’s thoughts and questions on the book, she found herself sitting at the signing table for the last time on the tour. She wasn't sure if she was ever going to have been able to attend any signings in the future for books. It wasn’t something that she had planned inside of her mind. 

What would she have written about if that was the case? She had already told the story that she wanted to tell. 

She had a feeling that a lot of her writing work in the future was going to have been the kind that she would get paid for when publishing certain articles. There would have just continued to have been people that would have paid her for her opinions on certain topics. At least it was something and she would have been doing what she loved - writing. 

People asked to take photographs with Connie with them holding the book. A lot of them also asked for Steven to have been in the picture. They always made sure to smile as they stood either side of the person who wanted the photo taken. Max had become pretty good at holding people’s phones and spamming the button to take as many pictures as possible. That way they could have picked the one where they were least ugly. 

Max sort of hoped that she was able to capture some funny faces from Steven that people would have eventually made into memes. That would have made her day. 

Although, as soon as she had taken the photos it was likely that she would have never seen them ever again as they stayed on the fan’s phone until the end of time. There was no telling what they would have done with the photographs. 

Either way, the signing didn’t take very long to come to an end. It felt as if the one time that Connie had been enjoying herself from start to finish when it came to the signing that it had gone quicker than she had wanted. There was no way that it was fair on that fact and she was annoyed that she hadn’t felt that way the whole time she had been on tour. 

Everyone had been so nice to her. People had even gotten her gifts that she had found it hard to accept at first, most of which were handmade and had a lot of love put into them. They were real fans. People that loved Connie for all of the work that she had put in. 

Connie was thankful that the baby had decided that today they weren’t going to have kicked her ass throughout the signing, which made for an even better time. She knew that she probably would have had her head over the toilet later on during the day to make up for it, but at that moment she was just happy to have been there. Happy to have been there with her two best friends and the people around her that respected her work. 

It felt good and Connie felt happy. 

They made their way back to the hotel and ate in the restaurant that was next door. It was a nice send off to say goodbye to the tour together before they would have to head home. Even though Connie suddenly felt as if she was enjoying the tour a lot more than she had been - she was more than prepared to have gone home. 

She had discovered the hard way that touring was, in fact, exhausting and even more so when she had found out that she was pregnant! That certainly hadn’t helped her cause when attending the signings or travelling around the country. She wondered whether or not she would have ever been able to attend a cross-country tour ever again if she had a child on the way. What would they have done if they had a kid? 

Would they take the kid with them? Leave them with Greg? Her parents?  _ Max _ ?

She didn’t even want to think about it. It was a sure possibility that this had been the last time that they would ever tour the United States in such a manner that included more than just a couple of states. It had been a pretty long tour and it was tough on them all, to say the least. 

“Home, tomorrow!” Steven grinned from the opposite side of the hotel room as he took his shoes off, making sure that he was ready for bed. Connie found herself already curled up in the covers, waiting for Steven to come and join her in the bed before she drifted off to sleep. 

They were both far too tired from waking up so early to have gotten to Orlando in time for the signing. 

“Yay!” Connie cheered sleepily, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep. 

She knew that once they got home there would have been so much for them to have done! Connie would have to call a bunch of people and try to get doctor’s appointments so that she could go for a scan to make sure that everything was all in order with the baby. She was a little scared and not sure what to expect, but it was nice to know that Steven was going to have been there with her the entire time. 

“I can’t wait to go home! I hope our plant in the kitchen isn’t dead.” Steven pouted slightly as he crawled into bed beside Connie, internally wishing that the plant sat on the windowsill hadn’t wilted away. He was too used to cacti and as soon as he had started to learn how to look after other plants, he had to leave it behind as he toured the country. 

“I thought your dad has been going in and checking on it and everything else?” Connie could barely keep her eyes open. 

“Yeah...I just don’t trust him to water it like I do.” Steven pressed his hands together before sliding down in the bed to join Connie. 

“I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Steven sighed as he got comfortable and shuffled a little closer to Connie. It was nice to know that the love of his life was lying right in front of him, not only that - but she wanted to marry him. They were having a baby! 

Finally, the tour had come to a gradual end and it was finally time for the couple to have gone home in the morning. 

Things were exactly where they wanted them to have been. Connie didn’t bother to think of another conversation topic as she made her way closer to Steven and closed her eyes, ready to have gone to sleep after the long day that they had experienced. There was nothing that she wanted more than to have slept throughout the night without any interruptions. 

And that was exactly what she did.


	19. Things Are Gonna End Like This...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 12 weeks. 
> 
> 37 weeks. 
> 
> Oh. Here we go...

It was early November, the couple had been home from tour for months. It had been a weird couple of months knowing what was on the horizon for them both. With the idea of a baby on the way occupying most of their time, there wasn’t much else that they felt as if they could do. 

Most of what they had been doing was preparing for what would have happened nearing the middle of the next year. With a baby on the way, there was a lot for them to have done to make sure things were perfect. 

It also meant that it had gotten to the point in Connie’s pregnancy that she was beginning to show a small bump. A true indicator to show that there was a tiny human growing inside of her and Steven found it  _ fascinating _ . He wanted to be around all of the time. 

His favourite thing to do was to sit at the end of the bed with his acoustic guitar every single night, singing what he could only believe would be a song to the baby to help them sleep. Connie always laid there either watching him perform or reading, allowing him to do what he needed to do to feel as if he was being a good dad already. He wanted to be involved in any way that he could. 

Although they were yet to clear out the spare bedroom that they used as an office and music room, they had already picked out what colour they wanted it to have been, 

At the twelve-week scan they were about to attend, there was a  _ possibility  _ that they would have been able to find out the gender of the baby. This was something that they had discussed and something that they didn’t want to find out. They wanted it to have been a surprise for everyone! Which meant that if they wanted to pick a name beforehand, it was either going to have to be gender-neutral or they would have to pick one for each gender. 

First, they would have to settle on a name that they loved. 

Steven threaded his fingers between Connie’s as they sat in the waiting room of the hospital. Connie’s leg shook nervously as Steven squeezed her hand a little tighter. 

“It’s going to be okay! We get to see a squiggly picture soon!” Steven grinned, overly excited to have gone to the appointment. Between thinking of the appointment and Connie’s birthday, there wasn’t much that he wasn’t excited about right then and there. 

“I’m not nervous... _ I just really need to pee _ .” Connie gritted her teeth together, having to put her bladder on hold to make for a more successful scan. Admittedly, she was a little bit nervous. That was just normal for her to have experienced. 

“Oh. Well...that was a  _ big  _ bottle of water you had in the car.” Steven furrowed his eyebrows, she had already explained that she had been asked to drink water before attending the appointment. He hadn’t expected her to have looked so uncomfortable whilst waiting. 

“It’s fine. All is fine.” Connie took a deep breath. 

Connie knew that as soon as they got the images for the ultrasound Steven was going to have stuck it to the fridge and sent it to everyone that he possibly could have. He had already mentioned taking copies of the images so that he could have one in his wallet to carry around with him. He was going to show  _ everyone _ his baby. 

“Maheswaran?” A voice called, surprisingly pronouncing Connie’s last name correctly. She immediately stood up, pulling Steven to a standing position as she did. Steven happily complied as he followed her over to where the sonographer was standing. 

Connie simply made her way over to the room where the sonographer was standing. Steven made sure to look around as he trailed along behind her. Leaving a waiting room of other soon-to-be parents behind. Some of the mothers sat alone, others with husbands, wives and a few with other members of friends and family. It was interesting for Steven to see what would have made up a family. 

There wasn’t much time between the couple entering the room and Connie being asked to lie down so that they could conduct the ultrasound. Steven sat down in a small blue chair beside her, reaching up and holding her hand whenever he could between questions. It was nice for the sonographer to ask questions about the pregnancy, Steven was a proud father to have internally been able to answer all of the questions that she was asking. He knew everything from Connie’s sleeping to eating habits. He wanted to make sure if there was ever a point where someone needed to know and Connie wasn’t in a position to answer that he could have been there.

Connie couldn’t believe how supportive Steven had been the last couple of months. Of course, she had expected him to have been just as supportive and loving as he was all of the time, but it was strange for her to have seen him act that way. She loved how sappy he got at even the simple thought of the baby. 

They were both excited to have witnessed the first scan together. 

There was no time at all between the sonographer asking questions and requesting for Connie to have lifted her t-shirt to expose her stomach. A small bump, but one that was only going to have gotten bigger as time went on. One that Steven was interested to see grow and develop. 

He was far too excited to have seen his baby for the first time. 

Steven stood up and held onto Connie's hand a little tighter as they waited in anticipation for the sonographer to continue with the scan. Connie sucked air through her teeth at the feeling of the cool gel on her skin, something that she knew was coming but still wasn't entirely fond of. 

"First, I'm just going to see if I can find a heartbeat." The sonographer was incredibly soft-spoken and her tone relaxed the couple. Although, they both waited with bated breath in anticipation to have heard the heartbeat. 

They knew there was a possibility that there could have been silence. Something that terrified them both. It had crossed their minds a few times, enough for them to have worried about it. There was so much running through their minds most of the time it was hard for them not to have thought about. They had gone through all of the outcomes - even the bad ones that they didn't want to speak about. 

Steven and Connie were speechless as they waited for the answer, the wand gliding over her stomach to try and get a clear image. 

Then suddenly...they saw it. A black and white image on the monitor of a tiny baby, small enough to have been held in the palm of their hands. Max had been keeping them updated on what fruit would have been able to compare in size. It was currently the size of a plum.

Steven audibly gasped at the side, straightening his back as he looked ahead at the monitor. Connie tightened her grip on his hand, unable to take her eyes off the image. There was a baby inside of her. Growing. 

Then came the whooshing sound of a heartbeat, causing the couple to sigh in relief. It was such a wonderful sound. One of life and determination to fight through the growing stage of being who they wanted to be. There was nothing that was going to get in their way. 

"Sounds like a nice healthy heartbeat to me." The sonographer smiled as she continued to study the monitor and use the wand to navigate her view of the womb.

Steven couldn't believe his eyes. A small baby on the screen. Life. Enough amazement for Steven that he found himself tearing up at the sight. Nothing would compare to the way that he felt in that moment. It was amazing knowing that Connie was pregnant, but  _ seeing _ the baby made everything so much more real. 

"That's our baby!" Steven whispered as he looked down at Connie, gripping onto her hand with both of his hands. He wasn't going to stop smiling for the next week. 

"I know!" Connie laughed, seeing how excited Steven was made her want to cry. Although, she was unsure whether or not that was the hormones or just the fact that she loved to see him that way. She too was incredibly happy. 

"Baby is sitting in an awkward position at the moment, so I can't determine gender. It can always be a bit of a prediction at twelve weeks anyway. We can never be too sure - only theories." The sonographer explained, examining the screen as she spoke. 

"It's okay. We wanted the gender to be a surprise." Connie was happy to have heard it. They didn't want to know the gender of the baby before the day they were born. It would have been a nice surprise to find it out on the day. 

“What are you hoping for? Any predictions?” The sonographer attempted to make some kind of conversation with the couple. 

Steven glanced down at Connie and shrugged. As much as he had spent a lot of time pondering on the thought of gender, it didn’t seem to matter much to either of them. They were just happy and blessed to have been parents and as long as the baby was healthy - all would have been good. There was so much that they were more than ready to have discovered and gender certainly wasn’t at the top of their list. 

“I don’t mind. I don’t think it matters to us.” Steven spoke quietly, more than ready to have been a dad. Regardless of gender, he was going to have loved the baby more than life itself. 

“It’ll be a nice surprise, regardless.” Connie smiled, interested to know what else the sonographer was going to have spoken about. It was an appointment that they had been looking forward to for a long time and finding out as much information about the baby was important to them both. 

The sonographer took some photographs on the monitor as Steven and Connie were unable to move their eyes away from the screen. Their baby was so tiny. So fragile. It amazed Connie that the baby was growing inside of her. A human. 

They both loved the baby so much already and they hadn’t even met them. 

“You can see their little feet!” Steven pointed out, excited to have been a huge part of it. He couldn’t wait to call his dad later and send him all of the pictures. It was going to have been wonderful. His dad would have loved them just as much as he did. 

Connie found herself keeping a tight grip on Steven throughout, it was such a sweet moment to have found out what their baby looked like. To have known that the baby was okay and it would have hopefully have continued that way. There was so much running through both of their minds that the image on the monitor was beyond incredible to them both. 

“Look, Steven, they have little arms and hands too!” Connie pointed out with a grin, her excitement radiating throughout the room. There was no way that the couple would have been able to contain their excitement in front of the sonographer. 

“I’m going to teach them so much guitar!” Steven suddenly mentioned the thought of their tiny hands. He knew that one day they would grow into a person. A person who would have loved to have cheered their dad up on stage. At least, that’s what Steven’s hopes were.

“You’re going to teach them a lot of guitar!” Connie chuckled, thinking back to the times in which Steven had taught her a lot of basic guitar techniques. She even had her own guitar that he had gotten her in the UK, although, it felt as if Steven played it a lot more than she ever did. 

It had a softer sound than his acoustic, which meant that a lot of the time that he played songs to Connie and the baby - he would often opt for that guitar over his own. The last thing the baby would have wanted to hear was him shredding on his Telecaster. Although, he hoped that they would have enjoyed that when they were older. 

Even though the appointment wasn’t that long, Steven found himself wiping his eyes several times to make sure he could compose himself if anyone needed to ask any questions. He wasn’t sure what anyone would have asked, but he knew that he was prepared. He just wanted to be involved as much as he could. 

“Everything looks to be in order. Twelve weeks and healthy. We can see you again in eight weeks to make sure the little one continues growing correctly.” The sonographer scribbled on a board to take some notes as Connie used a tissue to wipe away any of the remaining gel that was on her stomach. 

Doing so allowed her to sit up, trying her hardest to continue holding Steven’s hand when she could. There was no way that she wanted to have let go at any point. Steven was going to have been with her the entire time, even the times when she was scared of what was going to have come next. The last thing she would have ever wanted was to have been alone throughout it all. Steven would have never allowed for that to have happened.

“Do we get to keep the squiggly pictures?” Steven questioned as he pointed over to the pictures that had been printed rather eagerly. Connie knew that they would have been given to them eventually, but Steven wanted to be sure. He wouldn’t have left the room without them. 

He would have paid big bucks if it meant that he got to keep the images close to his heart. He wanted to have been able to see his baby. Even if it was a black and white squiggly picture. It was important to him, nonetheless. 

“You sure do! You’ll get to see another one at the next appointment and they’ll be even bigger!” The sonographer grinned, passing over the images on the strip of paper. Steven very carefully took the images from her. 

He angled them enough so that Connie could see as she covered her stomach back up with her t-shirt. Steven stood beside her in sheer shock, staring down at the images in his hand. It was so real. They were having a  _ baby _ . 

“Thank you!” Steven beamed, looking up at the sonographer as if she had just discovered the equation for world peace. She sure had brought a lot of love to Steven’s heart by conducting the appointment and that was something in itself. He couldn’t have been more thankful. 

The sonographer suddenly wished that everyone was just as thankful as Steven. He certainly seemed sweet. Connie was lucky to have such a supportive partner. 

The couple left the room hand-in-hand, walking back through the waiting room with smiles on their faces. Steven was unable to take his eyes away from the photographs that he was holding in his hand. There was no way he was ever going to have been able to stop looking at it. It simply amazed him too much. 

“That went really well!” Connie kept one hand tightly held onto Steven whilst the other made its way to her stomach. It was nice to know that the person growing inside of her was more than just an idea. It was strange to think about but nice to know. 

“We’re having a baby!” Steven whispered, keeping his eyes locked on the images as Connie went to open the door - terrified that he may have walked into it if he continued to walk without looking where he was going. 

“We are…” Connie laughed. There was no way that anyone would have been as excited as Steven, even if she had gotten close there was no way that she was going to get close to the amount of happiness that he was feeling. At least she wouldn’t have been able to show it off in the same way. 

“I can’t believe it. Everyone is going to love this picture!” Steven held it up a little more as they walked through the corridors of the hospital. Luckily, the sonographer was on the first floor and it wasn’t very far for them to walk back to the car. 

Connie knew that before they went back to the car she would have to dip to the toilet. There was no way that she was going to have been able to hold everything inside of her bladder after drinking all of that water. The hospital wasn’t too far from where they lived, but it was still far enough that Connie was convinced that she may not have been able to make it if she didn’t go before they left. 

Steven waited patiently outside of the bathroom with the images. He quickly snapped photos of them with his phone and sent them to his dad, knowing that it would have led to a conversation later. He also sent it to the band group chat. He wanted to send it to Max, but he knew that Connie probably would have wanted to have done the honours. She would have been jealous about not being the first one to have seen it. 

His phone was quickly flooded by sweet comments from each of the members of his band. His closest friends knew how to make him smile and they certainly weren’t going to have waited around to respond to the image. Steven was going to have been a dad and he was so excited! Nothing would have taken away that excitement and he was happy that the rest of the band were just as excited for baby Star Destroyer. They had continued to ask him and Connie about it since they had told them back in Seattle. 

Jenny had already gone out of her way to buy outfits for the baby that was still months away. She just wanted to have been prepared and also wanted to be certain that the baby was going to have been fashionable. If they were going to have been a member of Star Destroyers, they needed to have the best outfits. At least, that was what she had tried to get across to the boys. 

Either way, Steven was appreciative of all of them and the way that they supported his pursuits to have been a father. There were even a few shows that they had rearranged to fit around the baby’s estimated due date. There was no way for them to have been sure, but Steven wasn’t prepared to play any or many shows throughout the summer when he was going to be a dad. 

He wanted his first year of being a dad to have been one of the best year of his entire life. Touring was incredibly important to him. Although, if he needed to have put all of that aside so that he could have been a father - he would have done just that! He knew that one day he would have been able to take his kid on tour with him and even if he didn’t want it to be like he had found it as a kid...he wanted his child to experience something similar. 

Music flowed through him and he only hoped that he had transferred that love to the baby. Only time would have been able to tell. 

Steven had opted to drive the Dondai, even if Connie was usually the one to have driven it. It was clear that she had been slightly nervous about the appointment and he wanted to do everything he could to ease any pressure. When she came out of the bathroom they made their way back to the car, unable to speak over the amount that they kept smiling at one another. 

After Connie had come home from the book tour, she had realised that once again she had learnt a lot of new things. People had really enjoyed her book and there were still a lot of people who were interested in reading it. 

It just so happened that she had gained a lot of following simply from being a part of the Philip Butler podcast and for that she was incredibly grateful to the man. The experience of the day hadn’t been one that was entirely pleasant, but it was one that she wouldn’t have been able to forget. At least out of all of the bad things that had happened that day, she had gotten to a point where there was some kind of positive to have come out of it. 

With that being said - she had brought Steven a new pair of Vans that he was incredibly grateful for. As much as she didn’t have to, he was happy to have had a new pair that wasn’t stained with his pregnant girlfriend's vomit. They were pretty hard to clean and there was no way they would have been able to get to how they originally looked. 

Steven wasn’t looking for that, but he was thankful when Connie came through the door one day with a replica of the red Vans he had worn throughout the entire time they had been together. She couldn’t have even pictured him wearing any other shoes. He did occasionally wear flip flops around the house. 

The couple sat in the car together. They still had plenty of time on the parking meter, but that didn’t mean that they wanted to spend all day in the parking lot. The one thing that was on their mind was how they had already planned to have gone home and watched a particular movie for the rest of the day. That was only after they had gone grocery shopping - which was their next task. 

Despite having to do errands, Steven wasn’t sure if he was able to do anything other than stare at the picture that was still in his hands. 

“You really like that photograph, huh?” Connie looked over at him as she clicked on her seatbelt. She knew that at some point in the new year she wouldn’t have been able to click a seatbelt on quite so easily. Growing a pregnancy belly was still something that Connie wasn’t ready to do. 

It was going to be exhausting. 

“It’s really...it’s amazing.” Steven sighed with a smile, handing the picture over to Connie as they sat next to one another in the car. 

Connie looked down at the picture, perhaps not quite as intensely as Steven had been doing. She didn’t seem to want to take her eyes away from it though. 

“They’re beautiful.” Connie ran her finger against the picture, amazed to have seen the images once more. No matter how many times she saw the ultrasound, it still shocked her to know that a small baby was growing inside of her. It was a weird concept and one that although she could explain scientifically wasn’t one that she could get over mentally. 

“We should probably give them a name.” Steven shrugged as he placed his elbow on the steering wheel so that he could get a better look at Connie. 

Connie looked up with a smile, they had thought about a lot of names - but there was never any decision that could have been made. It was such a huge decision. A name that a child was going to have kept for the rest of their life, or at least until they realised that they may not have been who their parents had named them all that time ago. 

“Isn’t it a little bit early to decide? I mean...we have no idea if they’re going to be a girl or a boy. Even if we do think of names, they’re going to have to be neutral.” Connie made her point, despite Steven not wanting to hear any of it. He just wanted to talk about baby names. 

“Connie junior if it’s a girl, Steven junior if it’s a boy.” Steven shrugged as he threw out his suggestions. Connie couldn’t help but laugh before glancing down at the photo once more. 

As funny as they were, she didn’t feel as if their names would match up very well with who the baby would have been. Even from just the ultrasound, Connie knew that this baby was not a  _ Connie _ or a  _ Steven _ \- they were something entirely new. 

“I think names should be unique. This little person is going to be something wonderful and we should have a name to reflect that.” Connie made her point. 

“Well, why don’t we name them after something that we love? If you’re not allowing  _ Connie _ , then it may have to be ice cream!” Steven attempted to keep a straight face, but he knew he never would have been able to. Connie knew that a part of him was being completely serious about the suggestion. She couldn’t be mad, it was adorable. 

She would never have allowed him to have named their child ‘Ice Cream’ though. 

“I’m not naming my child that.” Connie snorted. 

“Well, Sour Cream is named after food! It seems pretty normal to me.” Steven folded over his arms as he tried to make his argument for the name. There was no way that he was going to have won against Connie. 

“When I say that people are named after the things that they love, I’m thinking more like...places. People name their kids after all kinds of things, but not  _ Ice Cream _ .” Connie looked over at Steven with a smile as she held the photograph with both hands. She wasn’t going to have let go of it, especially not now that Steven had passed it over to her. It was her time to have held the  _ baby _ . 

“Places that we love? We’ve been to loads of places. I’m sure we could think of a name based on that, right?” Steven’s suggestion was one that Connie wasn’t originally too fond of and yet the way that he had spoken so excitedly about it made her think otherwise. 

Naming the baby after somewhere that they had enjoyed when they had been on tour together was perfect! That way, the baby would have had a unique name that the two of them could always relate to fond memories that they had there. It would have been...wonderful. With the amount of love that they shared for one another when they were on tour, it would only serve to match up for the amount of love that they would share for the baby.

“So, Portland’s off the list?” Connie cocked an eyebrow. 

“ _ Yes _ , it’s off the list.” Steven confirmed. As much as he knew that she was joking, he couldn’t have been quite sure. 

If they were going to have settled on a name that related to a place, at the very least, Steven wanted it to have been a place where he only had good memories. Ones that he could look back on and smile at. Ones that he was more than happy to have thought of every single time that he mentioned his child’s name. 

“We’ve been to lots of places, most of which I don’t think would be very good names.” Connie frowned, thinking back to all of the places that they had been to throughout the tour. 

“Brooklyn! We met in Brooklyn! Right?” Steven suddenly gasped at the thought. 

“I guess...that could be gender neutral - if we wanted.” Connie didn’t feel as if the name had much standing. It didn’t feel right. 

Sure, this wasn’t something that they had to decide on during that day - but it was something that they were going to have to start thinking about. Something that was going to have been on their mind until the due date. There was no harm in thinking of it earlier so that they could be prepared. 

There was a likelihood that as soon as the baby was born, whatever name that they thought would have been the one may not have been the right one at all. It was all dependent on a lot of things. Especially who the baby was going to have been. There was little that they knew yet. Choosing a name would have been hard based on the very little things that they had to go by. 

“How about...Birming-”

“Hard no.” 

“Uhhhh...Los Angeles. Angel?” Steven squinted, attempting to think of sweet names. 

“That is rather sweet…” Connie pondered on the name until a thought crossed her mind. “I’m not naming my child after that place...you know why.” 

“I was just trying to think of nice memories.” Steven smirked. 

“Yeah...no-”

“Austin! I know the second time wasn’t all that great, but it was still  _ great _ . Good things always happen in Austin!  _ I love you so much _ !” Steven quoted the wall that they had been to multiple times that had become quite the staple location in their relationship. 

“Austin  _ is  _ primarily a  _ boy’s _ name...I don’t hate it though.” Connie chewed on her bottom lip. Austin seemed like a nice name...they were just going to have run into some issues if the baby turned out to have been a girl. Did that really matter though? 

There was no point in worrying about conforming to any kind of gender norms. Connie didn’t quite care about that. Anything would have gone - as long as it fitted. 

“How about Jane Austen?” Steven suddenly thought, the author coming to mind. With the amount of reading that they both did together, it was a hobby that they shared. Something close to them both. 

“Austen is her last name though.” Connie sighed, for some reason - the name felt  _ right _ . It was something that she could imagine calling her child. Something that she was happy with. Something that she hoped they would have been happy with too. 

“We could be real funky and turn it into the ultimate gender-defying name. Austin for a boy and Austen, the Jane Austen spelling for a girl!  _ Easy _ .” Steven nodded, feeling proud of his baby-naming abilities. From his ability to name all of the plants inside of their house, Connie knew that Steven naming things wasn’t quite his strong point. There were other things that he excelled in. 

Naming things was not one of them. 

Although, the name Austin felt a little different from everything else that they had suggested previously. Even at that moment, there was something about the name sitting differently from the rest. It somehow felt right. It felt good. It rolled off the tongue exactly where they needed it to. 

There was still a lot of time for them to have decided what they wanted the baby to have been named, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t considering the options right then and there. Would Connie have jumped on the idea to have said ‘yes’ to the name? Maybe not. Although, it was something that she was going to have let stew inside of her for a while. 

Connie stared down at the picture again, thinking about what the person inside of her could grow up to be. Were they an Austin? An Austen? Or maybe something completely different? Either way, they still had a long time before they would ever have been able to figure that out. 

“I don’t hate it.” Connie smiled at the photograph. Names were meant to be unique and whoever was inside of her was going to have been just that. It would have been great to have met them and she couldn’t wait - regardless of what name they chose for them to have. 

“Me neither. It’s....cute.” Steven grinned, holding his hand out so that he could be better connected to the love of his life. The woman who was carrying his baby and who had agreed to marry him once everything had settled. It was going to have been wonderful and he couldn’t wait. 

The next year or so was going to have been the best years of his life. Everything was going to have fallen perfectly into place so that he would have his own little family. Something that he had wished for since he was young. It was going to have been exactly what he wanted and more. 

Connie glanced over at his hand, gently placing her palm in his. There was no way that she was ever going to have been able to deny his touch. They continued to have the aching need to be close to one another whenever they could - which turned out to have been most of the time. 

“Look at our baby, Steven. Aren’t they cute?” Connie giggled as she shuffled in the seat the best she could with the seat belt strapped in. She moved close enough so that she could rest her head on his shoulder, showing him the picture of the ultrasound. 

“They’re adorable. I still can’t believe I’m going to be a daddy.” Steven sighed with a huge smile on his face as he rested his cheek against the top of Connie’s head. The couple looking down at the photograph together. They just wished there was more they could have learned about the baby before it was there. 

“You’re going to be an amazing dad.” Connie rested her chin on his shoulder as he turned to face her. She kissed his lips slowly with a smile, happy that no matter what was on the horizons they would have been able to stick through it together. 

Connie knew that leading up to the due date she was going to have been putting Steven through the ringers. There was going to have been so much that she would have required his input and then as soon as the baby was born, she was going to have needed more help than ever. She was just thankful that Steven was going to have been around to help her, the last thing that she wasn’t to do was resort to asking her parents for advice. 

It did worry her that at some point she was going to have to speak to them if she couldn’t figure something out. She knew when it came to parenting, she was going to seek the advice from Greg and Richard before she ever turned to her parents. Although, she knew she would have gotten on her Mom’s side a lot if she was just there to ask and listen to suggestions. That didn’t mean that she would have to follow them. 

She knew that Priyanka would have loved the input. At least to have had the opportunity to have voiced her opinions when it came to parenting. Connie wasn’t sure, but she may have had a few useful suggestions that she could have used without turning her child against her. 

Although, over the past couple of months her parents had been supportive in many ways. It even included a visit over to Nashville one weekend that was completely unexpected - once again. 

This time it felt as if they were completely different people. People who were accepting of the change that Connie helped inside of herself and the way that she was externally. It also involved her relationship with Steven and how that wasn’t going to have changed any time soon. It was just nice to know that her parents had gotten to a point where they were willing to just let her...be. 

It was all that she had ever asked from them and finally...it felt as if she had gotten it. 

They both knew that they were going to have been parents - but being prepared was another thing. Little did they know that month after month leading up to the due date they would have been battling through all sorts of things involving Connie’s pregnancy. 

Her pregnancy hadn’t been kind to her, but Steven had been amazing in making sure that she was fine most of the time. He looked after her every single step of the way, through the sleepless nights and the days when she just didn’t want to do anything.

That was okay and Steven was okay with helping her out that way. There was no way that he wouldn’t have wanted to do so. Nothing that said he wasn’t incredibly excited to do whatever he could to make sure he was by Connie’s side the whole time. He loved her too much to deny her of that. 

There had even been nights throughout the pregnancy where Connie would vent and cry about everything and Steven was always the one that she spent the night crying to. She would often fall into his arms and wet his shirts with her tears, wanting nothing more than to allow her emotions to escape. 

Sometimes, emotions came out in bouts of anger and Steven was more than capable of dealing with that too. Case in point was the various amounts of times he had been asked to sleep on the couch for something petty that he didn’t realise had upset her  _ that _ much. Although, even when that did happen, it wasn’t long before she was calling him back to bed. The last thing they wanted was to have been apart. 

There were many scans to follow and many conversations about the name that they wanted to give their baby. Every one was filled with love and understanding. Nothing was ever going to have torn them apart when everything around them was happening all so fast. 

They were in love and they were having a baby together. Everything was perfect. 

At least, as perfect as they could make it with the circumstances surrounding them. 

It was during Steven’s last show before the baby was born that something happened that neither of them could expect. Although, when it did happen there was nothing that they could do about it. 

It all started when Max tried her hardest to convince Connie that going to one of Steven’s last shows before the baby was born was actually a pretty good idea…

Spoiler alert - it wasn’t. 

“I’m not going to a show!” Connie shook her head, attempting to stand her ground on the subject. 

“We’ll stand at the back! It’ll be absolutely fine. This baby is a Star Destroyer and they want to go and see Daddy play a show!” Max knelt so that she was level with Connie’s stomach, making sure to put on a high pitched voice as she spoke. 

“I’m thirty-seven weeks pregnant, Max.” 

“So...we’ll get you a chair!” Max leant on the countertop opposite the kitchen inside of the Maheswaran and Universe household. She had been hanging out there all morning, preparing for the journey over to the venue later on during the day. 

Star Destroyers were going to have been playing a show in the evening around an hour or so away from Nashville. It was near enough considered a ‘hometown’ show that they had booked last year. One that didn't seem too close to the due date.

Steven was stuck in a position of not wanting to leave Connie on her own at home and not wanting to bring her to a dirty venue an hour away. She had been having a rough time with the pregnancy throughout the first half of the new year and Steven had continued to be supportive as ever. This included going to the store at three in the morning to get something to satisfy a craving that diminished when he got home. He was willing to have done anything for her. 

Admittedly, it had been an exhausting experience for them both. Mostly Connie, but Steven hadn’t quite anticipated the wrath that came with a pregnant woman. The bump on her stomach came with a mix of emotions that he wasn’t sure how to combat other than to have done everything he could to make sure he kept on her good side. 

Connie stood in the kitchen, hoping that she would have finished preparing them all lunch soon enough. That would mean she would get to sit down and that would have been great. Down the hall of the small home, the melodic strums from Steven’s telecaster were all that could be heard through the amp as he practised the riffs inside of a new song over and over along with the new pedal on his board. He had already sloppily written the setlist down on a few sheets of paper in preparation for the show. 

They hadn’t played many shows in the past couple of months, but the odd show here and there was enough to have kept them going. Steven wasn’t prepared to have travelled too far away from home with Connie in her current situation. He would have much rather have been at home spending time with her before the baby came. 

“A chair isn’t going to help. The only thing that’s going to help me is giving birth.” Connie sighed with a slight smile, finding some hilarity in the situation. She wasn’t looking forward to giving birth, but it would have been a short amount of time in comparison to the sickness, back pain, inability to hold anything in her bladder for longer than an hour and the kicking. The constant  _ kicking _ . She was sure the baby had a personal vendetta against her ribcage for no reason. 

“Afraid I can’t help with that one, Chuck.” Max reached her arm over the counter and grabbed one of the chips from the bowl that was in front of Connie. “Look, I don’t know when Steven’s going to play next after the kid-doink is born - you can’t pass this opportunity up. You’ll be  _ fine _ . You can even wait backstage!” 

“I should probably stay at home…” Connie sighed once more, carefully slicing the last sandwich that she had made for each of them to have before they packed up and went to the show. At least, Max and Steven went to the show. 

“On your own? No way.” Max immediately shook her head. 

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“No, you need a baby-taker-outer, but I don’t know where to get one of those.” Max growled, frustrated that Connie wasn’t going to have listened to her no matter how much she tried. She was just too stubborn for her own good. 

The guitar playing in the back room stopped rather suddenly, it felt as if Steven knew that lunch was ready and if he didn’t keep to the schedule he had in his head then he wasn’t going to have made it to practice in time. The room that he had been practising in was soon going to have been the baby’s room. As soon as the baby was there, he was going to have completely removed his equipment. 

It felt a little strange for him to have been playing the guitar beside a brand new cot, a baby mobile, changing table and newly painted yellow walls. They had gone all-out on the baby items as a way to make sure they were doing the right thing. They wanted to be good parents. 

Steven had already gone around the house and put rubber covers over every corner of the pointed furniture. It wasn’t even as if they would have been walking for what would have probably been another year. He just wanted to make sure that everything was as safe as it possibly could be. He wanted to protect his baby from any threats that may have come their way. 

“That sounds terrifying.” Connie gave Max a deadpan expression. 

“I know...my lower half became all tense and not in a good way.” Max gritted her teeth together as the door to the spare bedroom opened. 

Steven came trailing down the small corridor of the house and into the kitchen. He was wearing his usual getup. It was rare that anyone would have seen him in anything other than a t-shirt and a pink flannel. Admittedly, he hadn’t put his shoes on yet which meant that he was still trailing the house in his socks with ‘Stephen’ on the bottom of them - a birthday gift from Max from a couple of years ago. 

“I made lunch!” Connie stated proudly, showing the plate of sandwiches off to Steven. He had been practising all morning and was happy to have taken a break. There was going to have been a lot of travelling throughout the day, or at least...loading up the car. 

The band had most things with them, but if Connie was going to come along there was no way that she was going to have gone in the van when she was so pregnant. No way! 

“Aw, cool! Triangles, my favourite! Heh. They look awesome!” Steven grinned happily, thankful that he wouldn’t have had to throw something together last minute to eat for lunch. He probably wouldn’t have eaten again until right before the show or after. It was good to have a big lunch. He stepped over towards Connie and kissed her cheek before waving at Max. “Hey, Max!” 

“Sup, dude. Did you give up on trying to convince Pregasaurus to come to the gig?” Max reached over and grabbed another chip.

“Out of all the nicknames you’ve ever given me - I hate that one the  _ most _ .” Connie sighed, unable to not smile at her best friend’s attempts to be funny. Steven stepped back from Connie as she went to put the plate of sandwiches on the dining table behind them. 

“I didn’t  _ give up _ . I just said that if she didn’t want to go, she didn’t have to.” Steven shrugged. 

“So...you gave up?” 

“N-no, I just...it’s up to Connie.” Steven pouted slightly. “It’s going to be my last show for a while and it would be  _ nice _ for everyone to be there, but I also don’t want it to be unsafe.” 

“Which is why I said that we can get the human incubator a chair, or maybe...she can just sit backstage!” Max shrugged back at Steven, she knew that she wasn’t going to leave for the show without Connie coming with them. 

“I lied.  _ That _ was the worst name you’ve ever given me.” Connie pointed towards Max as she walked back past Steven to take the bowl of chips away from the counter. If she didn’t move them soon, Max would have snaked on them all at once. 

“All I’m saying is that I don’t like the idea of you hanging here on your own. What if the baby comes when we’re gone? What happens then?” Max made her way around the counter, following the bowl of chips over to the table. 

“I’ll call an ambulance - like a normal person.” Connie laughed, she could quite easily take care of herself. 

“What if the ambulance crashes?” Max squinted. 

“ _ What _ ?!” 

“I’m just trying to think of scenarios that mean that you can come to the show with us! Please, Connie! Otherwise, I’m going to call Greg and make him sit with you all night.” Max picked up the bowl and began to eat the salty chips. They were pretty good. Too good. A lot of salt and sodium. Nice. 

“I mean, Max does have a point - I don’t really want you here on your own. I could always call my dad? I’m sure he would come over.” Steven scratched the back of his neck, realising that Max had made him a little nervous about the idea of the baby coming whilst he was away. That wasn’t the plan.

“Steven, I love your dad - but I don’t need him to babysit me. The baby isn’t even due y-”

“But it can come any day now! You know that’s what the doctor said!” Steven panicked slightly at the thought. He couldn’t stand the idea of not being there when she was ready to give birth. That wasn’t what he had in his mind. He was going to be there! 

“You guys have it all backward. You’re trying to get me to come out to a show with you, what if I go into labour there instead? Isn’t that worse?” Connie was a little confused by their logic. 

“No, because you’d be with us. Also - I  _ did  _ say I could get you a chair.” Max shook her head, unable to see past how it wouldn’t have been the greatest idea ever. Why wouldn’t she have wanted to come to the show? 

“Even if I did go - I’m not going to sit on a chair.” Connie shook her head, there was no way that she was going to have sat at the back of the venue on a chair. That would have been totally lame. If she was going to go to the show, then she may as well have just stood up. She barely spent a lot of her pregnancy sitting down - she was always on the move. It wouldn’t have been any different. 

“You’re coming?” Steven’s eyes lit up at the idea. As much as he thought it may have been better for her to have stayed at home - he didn’t want her to have been alone. That would have been worse. Although, he was excited about the idea of Connie and the baby coming to see him play for the last time before they came out into the world. 

He continued to hope that the baby would have loved his music. The music that Steven played would often calm the baby down inside of her, stopping them from kicking her insides too much. It was her only defence against having her ribs kicked in. 

“I didn’t say that, I’m still...considering it.” Connie shook her head. A part of her knew that even if she tried to defend herself against not going - she was going to have ended up going regardless. There was no way that Max would have let her get away with it and Steven certainly wasn’t going to have left her at home on her own. 

“That means she’s coming but doesn’t want to admit that she’s given into us.” Max cupped her hand around her mouth and spoke to Steven directly. He nodded slowly. 

“Not entirely true.” Connie sighed. 

She knew that she had lost. There was no way that she was going to have been able to get away with it. 

It didn’t take long before she was in the passenger seat of the Dondai on the highway listening to Max’s playlist as she trailed the auxiliary cord through the two front seats and into the back. Steven’s Telecaster sat comfortably in its case on her lap - the trunk wasn’t big enough for it to have fitted inside. Although, he did manage to throw the rest of his equipment in there. 

The band had the rest. 

As much as Connie had been against the idea of going along to the show, she knew that this was going to have been the last time for her to have seen Steven play up on a stage in a while. It would have been a shame to have missed it. Even in the future when he started to play shows again, she was unsure if there would have been any childcare for them both. If Steven was playing a show - who was going to look after the baby? Greg? 

She wasn’t sure just yet, but whatever the answer would have been she knew that she wasn’t going to have been entirely sure about it. At the moment, she was going to have been the most protective mother over the baby. There was no way that in the first couple of months anyone would have been looking after the baby for them. Connie knew that bonding with the baby would have been important and handing them over to someone to look after, even just for the night would have been too much for her. 

Connie knew that she was going to have become attached. She already was.

Connie wanted to be mad at the fact that she had been dragged along to the show, but it wasn’t as if she would have had it any other way. There was also no way that Steven would have allowed her to have been out of arm’s reach. It wasn’t as if he had done so the past couple of months. He wanted to be with her every moment of the day and make sure that she was okay. 

The last thing that he wanted was to have been over an hour away from her. There was no way that he was going to have allowed for that to have happened. If she didn’t go to the show - he would have had to have cancelled. Which is why, when she finally gave into Max’s pleads he was happy. Happy that she was going to have been joining them on the short trip. 

Although, that did mean that he was going to have to make sure that Max was with her at all times throughout the show. The last thing he wanted would have been for her to have been on her own at a show! That would have been terrible!

“Yo, Connie! How’s it kickin’?” Sour Cream questioned, more than happy to be at the show. It had been a long time since they had all played together, so getting a chance to do so was on their list before Steven disappeared for a while to be a dad. 

“Well, the baby has been pretty good with the kicks today.” Connie held onto her large stomach as they stood inside of the venue. There was something unnerving about being inside of a venue before the crowds piled in. 

They had just spent the last two hours in the car, which consisted of several bathroom stops to accommodate for Connie’s overactive bladder. There was no way that the baby was going to have allowed for her to have had five minutes of peace, even when they were travelling. 

“Not long now, I bet you’re ready to get that baby out! Can’t wait for a new band member!” Jenny commented, still fascinated by the idea of pregnancy. It wasn’t something that she had considered, but as soon as she had seen Connie her idea of it had changed. Then it had changed back once she had seen her best friend’s fiance struggle through the last eight months.

It was rough. Nobody was ever going to have denied that. 

“Baby Star Destroyer wanted to come and audibly experience us play before they open their eyes to the visual pleasures of this world.” Buck nodded with a grin, also happy that Connie had decided on coming to the show. It felt wrong to have played a Star Destroyers show without either Max or Connie now that they had been with them this entire time. 

“And the audible pleasure is hearing Steven scream into a microphone. Great. This baby is going to want to stay in there.” Max pointed over at Connie’s stomach before placing her hands on her hips. She was yet to try and find Connie a chair that she could rest in if she needed to. 

Soon. She would find a chair soon. Or at least before the show was about to start. That would have been most beneficial and Max was planning to have done everything that she could do to make sure she was a good friend. 

Just like Steven, she had practically been beside Connie the whole pregnancy. It wasn’t as if she was going to have let her best friend go through it on her own. If that meant helping out the couple the best she could, then so be it. She was going to have made sure that she was the best aunt that she possibly could be! 

“The baby loves it when Steven sings.” Connie stated proudly. 

Steven suddenly perked up at the sound of his name, without hesitation he looked away from his pedalboard that he was messing around with to be a part of the conversation. As much as he wanted to set everything up on the stage so that he could spend some time with his friends before the show if Connie had mentioned him and the baby in a sentence then he wanted to have been a part of it - no matter what. Anything else could have come after. 

“Oh yeah! The baby loves it when I sing!” Steven stated once more so that they heard exactly what she had said. 

He thought about continuing to be softer in his tones when it came to music to help accommodate the baby. As much as he wanted them to be an emo kid, he was planning on keeping anything more than guitar tapping out of the equation until they were older. Although, one day he wanted them to shout into a microphone next to him. 

“Does it? Did it tell you?” Max snorted, she found it hilarious when Steven went all gooey over the baby. 

“N-no, they didn’t have to! Connie can tell!” Steven defended. As much as he wanted to believe that the baby enjoyed the way that he sang, he wasn’t entirely sure. He could only tell by the way that Connie spoke about how the baby moved when he did so. 

“Don’t be a jackass, Max. It's cute!” Jenny shook her head as a way to get Max to stop her comments. Everyone knew that she was joking around, but there was nothing worse than stopping Steven from having his fun. 

He was going to be a dad and he was excited - nobody was going to have been able to take that away from him! There was so much that he was yet to explore with the baby and music was going to have been the first thing on his agenda! 

“Okay, okay! Sorry.” Max raised both of her hands.

Connie went and stood at the back of the venue with Max as the band prepared themselves to play the first show that they had played in a while. Not only that, but it was going to have been the last show that they would have played in months. 

Star Destroyers were going to be going on another hiatus that none of them could help. Although, it gave a chance for the rest of the band to pursue things that they otherwise may not have had the chance if they continued to tour. It wasn’t a bad thing for them to have taken a break. It would have benefited them all eventually and with the sales of their albums continuing to come through, they still had a pretty consistent income. 

Steven and the rest of the band made their way up onto the stage and took their positions. 

“Are you sure you didn’t want me to get you that chair? We can always go backstage if you want? Just give me a shout and I’ll throw you over all of these losers.” Max stated as she stood beside her best friend. She had opted not to drink that night, joining Connie on the fine tap water that she was drinking from the venue. At least where they were playing had offered them cold tap water.

“I’m okay. I’ll let you know if I need anything.” Connie nodded as she held onto the water with both hands. It was strange for her to have been at a show considering how pregnant she was and she certainly got a few looks from people who were there to see the band. Not everyone knew who she was. 

Mostly...nobody knew who she was. 

After the book tour when she had gone on tours with Steven there had been a few people who were more than willing to have come up to her and spoken to her about the book. Although, it was very rare. 

Occasionally, people were a little bit more subtly rude than that as they tried their hardest to point to her without drawing too much attention to themselves. There was no way that they wouldn’t have been super obvious to Connie, but she let them get away with it anyway. 

It felt nice to have some kind of fame for writing the book and for being connected to Steven Universe - although, that fame also came with an invasion of privacy. There was no way that she was ever going to have been able to have gotten over that part. 

“If anyone from the pit comes anywhere near us - I’ll bop them for you!” Max held her hand out in front of her, ready to defend Connie against the crowds if she needed. 

It felt weird for Max not to have been behind the merch stand promoting the band considering she mostly did that every night that they had played for the last couple of years. Being a promoter for Greg Universe meant that she did it for a lot of different bands and it wasn’t just down to the merch. It was everything from social media presence to the different venues that they should play at. 

During that evening, Max had opted for the venue to sort out the merchandise for the band. She always had it in her mind that during that night she was going to have a good time with her friends and not have to worry about her work and the image of Star Destroyers. Especially if a heavily pregnant Connie was going to have been at the show. All the more reason not to have been working! 

This was about going to see Star Destroyers play! 

A classic on her part. Something that she would have done regardless of her position with the band. Something that she used to do as a fan. 

Although, throughout that night she would have been with Connie. There was no way that she was ever going to have left Connie’s side to have gone into the mosh pit. No way! If Steven would have seen her, he wouldn't have been able to forgive her for leaving Connie in the venue on her own! 

“I’ll be fine, Max. You were the one who dragged me here, anyway!” Connie laughed before taking a sip of her drink. Sure, it would have been nice to have spent the evening on the couch watching her favourite TV shows, but she knew that she couldn’t miss Steven play. 

“I’m only looking out for you.” 

“I know.”

“Looking out for these emo boys in emo bands. Y’know...they might knock you up or something.” 

“Already happened.”

“Again?”

“You’re kidding, right? Another nine months of...this. Nope.” Connie shook her head as she pointed at her stomach. There was no way that she would have even considered something like that at that time. Nope. 

“Well, never say never.” 

“I’m saying never.” Connie confirmed. She wasn’t going to have gotten into it then and there - but the last thing that she wanted on her mind was the idea of continuing to be pregnant for any longer than she needed to. That included being pregnant again. She was nearly at the end! It was nearly over!

She didn’t want to have to think about it ever again. Now was the stage that she was going to have hated the most and that was...giving birth. She wished that part would have just been over already. That wasn’t something that she wanted to have to experience. 

She was sure that when it happened the first time that she was going to have marked it off her list of things that she never ever wanted to do again. Max was already part of that club, despite it never happening to her in the first place. Although, being pregnant wasn’t something that came to her mind.

She happened to have been the best aunt that she possibly could be to the bean that was growing inside of Connie. Although, at the moment it certainly wasn’t the size of a bean anymore. It was similar in size to a watermelon. It was ready to come out! 

Connie watched as the crowd in front of her began to cheer as Steven stepped onto the stage. The rest of the band was quick to follow him on and pick up each of their instruments. After Steven had been practising the same riff over and over again in the backroom of their house, she couldn’t wait to hear it live. 

Connie never quite understood why Steven practised the riffs that he played. It wasn’t as if he was ever going to have been bad at the way that he played. He was going to have remembered every single fret, string and chord to create a song. There was no way that he would have forgotten anything. He was too musically talented to have done anything less. 

Even still, she was happy to have finally heard it live. She knew he would have been proud of himself at that moment for smashing it first try. She would have been proud of him too. 

As much as Max wanted to jump into the crowd as the first song started, she remained next to Connie as they watched the band play. It wasn’t like when they had toured the states for the first time. Everything had changed a lot since that point. 

Connie was no longer a scared college student who had been dragged across the country by her best friend to go and see some emo band that she had never heard of. Now the band was part of her list of best friends and the frontman of said emo band was her fiance. She was having a baby with him! It was all so strange in comparison to the first time that she had heard Star Destroyers play. 

That journey had turned her life on its head. Everything was different now and that was fine. She was a talented young woman with a baby on the way. It wasn’t exactly what she would have wished for when she was a teenager, but it was something that she wouldn’t have ever wanted to change now that it was her life. 

This was her everything. 

Although, as she watched the band play - she felt a little pain in her stomach. It was different from the other pain that she had been experiencing throughout her pregnancy. The baby was due pretty soon, so it wasn’t as if there wasn’t going to have been some new pains! 

It was likely that she was just experiencing a contraction. That could happen sometimes and although she wasn’t going to have ignored it, whatever it was - she could wait until she was back home to begin to worry about it. 

The show continued and Connie stood at the back of the venue with Max. The beat of the music was rhythmic and as per usual, she made sure to tap her foot against the floor and bob her head. 

Steven made sure to look over every now and then to see where she was. Connie would smile at him and he would simply smile back. Even on opposite sides of the venue, they managed to look out for one another like they had done so from the first night that they had met. Always - they made sure there was a lot of love in the room. Especially for one another. 

Connie sucked air through her teeth at the sudden pressure that she felt. This time - a little more aggressive than the last. That didn’t seem good. 

It caused Connie enough of a reaction that Max noticed, despite the noise of the music. Sour Cream’s drums continued to make a loud repetitive noise as Jenny’s bass hummed through the speakers. As much as Max wanted to listen to the music, her attention suddenly focused on Connie who had physically moved from the pain that she had felt. 

“Everything good?” Max shouted over the music, gripping onto her friend’s shoulder. 

Connie nodded. There was nothing out of the ordinary - right? Nothing that could have possibly have gone wrong with a heavily pregnant woman about to burst. 

Nothing was wrong with…

Connie stared down at the floor, causing her eyes to widen in the dark. Despite the floor of the venue having its usual stickiness, she never remembered it being so wet by her feet. Had someone spilt a drink? It was very possible that they could have done it, half of the people in the building were drunk. 

Except, there wasn’t anyone behind her. It was Max. Max hadn’t spilt a drink. It was hard to see under the coloured lighting. It was hard to see anything. 

“Connie? Everything okay?” Max wanted verbal confirmation as Connie’s face told another story. Nothing about her expression seemed fine in any way of the word. 

Max held onto Connie’s arm, this time a little tighter as she looked up at the stage to see Steven singing. Had he put her in a trance? What kind of emo bullshit was this? It was at that point Max stepped a little closer to Connie before realising that she had, in fact, stepped in  _ something _ . 

“Did you pis- oh my god.” Max’s expression dropped at the thought of what was happening. 

“I think my water just broke…” Connie gulped at the thought, in complete shock and horror at what had just happened. She had never experienced something quite so...disgusting. 

This wasn’t how she wanted it to happen. 

Max blinked rapidly as she stared down at the floor. Maybe calling an ambulance would have been the best option? But what if it crashed? Max had to think fast and if she didn’t, then...she didn't know what would have happened! She wasn’t a baby scientist! 

“What do I do? Get towels?!” Max shook her head, unable to comprehend the situation. She was going to have had a meltdown if she couldn’t help her best friend. Everything was happening all at once. 

“Get Steven!” Connie shouted, enough for some of the people in front of her enjoying the music to have turned around slightly. It could have been any kind of chant. Loads of people mentioned his name throughout the set. 

“Are you going to be okay? On your own? Do you need a chair?” Max held her hands either side of her, unable to think about what would have happened if she left Connie there alone. That was the last thing that she wanted to do. What would Steven say? 

He wouldn’t have accepted that. He had tasked Max with making sure that she was with Connie at all times. Max couldn’t leave! 

“I don’t need a fuckin’ chair! Get Steven!” Connie barked. Max’s jaw dropped at the sound of Connie cursing. She hadn’t heard anything like that come out of her mouth for a  _ long  _ time! 

Max could leave. Max could do anything that Connie wanted her to do. Anything that she needed her to do! 

“Right! Steven! I will get Steven!” Max saluted quickly before bolting off to make her way through the crowd. 

She had been through a crowd at a concert many times in the past. Although, with that being said - she knew that nobody liked the person who would try and push their way to the front. People weren’t going to have let her past unless she really pushed! 

“Steven!” Max shouted as she pushed her way through the crowd. There had to be an easier way to get there, but she wasn’t sure how. There was no way around the sides of the venue - it was to the front of the stage or nothing. 

She needed to make sure that she could push through the crowd, but people had started on the mosh pits. There was no way that she was going to have been able to have gotten around it without being thrown in. This truly was the biggest challenge at a gig she had ever been to, although she knew that she had to do everything she could to get through and speak to Steven. 

Max continued to push through with her shoulders tense, she suddenly found that she had come to a stop. There was no way that she was going to have been able to get past the giant of a man standing in front of her. She attempted to jump. Again. Again. 

Nothing. 

“Steven!” Max jumped once more before suddenly her entire body was in the air. Someone had started to lift her up. “N-no, this isn’t what I wanted! Get off!” she shouted, trying her hardest not to be lifted up. It was no use - they continued regardless. 

Max had been crowd surfing enough to know that the worst thing she could have possibly have done in that scenario is thrash around out of panic. She didn’t want to crowd surf and she certainly didn’t want Connie to ever think that she had ditched her cause to have some fun. Fun could wait until later! Right now, she needed to be the super aunt that she was always destined to be. 

“No! Please, I need to...wait-” Max wiggled as much as she could until she devised a plan inside of her mind. 

Where were crowd surfers usually taken? 

To the front of the stage! 

There was nothing that would have stopped her from getting there now! This was her way above the crowd and to Steven. The only way that she would have been able to get the attention of Steven without trying to shout his name over several loud instruments. There was no way that was going to have worked - but this was! 

“Mush! Mush! To the stage! Yes, this is exactly what I wanted! Steven!” Max managed to get to a position where she was on her back and being carried by the crowd towards the stage.

Steven was quick to notice Max as he continued to play the new song that he had learnt on the guitar. Several new riffs and vocals that he wasn’t too keen on. It was a new single that they had been working on and they wanted to test it out before they went to the studio. It was an unorthodox method - but they wanted to see how the crowd would react to it. As far as they could tell right then and there...the crowd loved it! 

Max loved it! 

Max could barely concentrate on the music as she flailed around on the top of the crowd, attempting to make her way to the front of the stage. Steven could tell that she was enjoying the show! Just like many times in the past, Max had crowd surfed at a Star Destroyers show. This didn’t seem to have been any kind of an exception to that. 

Except...it was. It very much was. 

Max had never propelled herself into the stage so hard, practically tumbling over the people who were holding her up. Steven furrowed his eyebrows as he attempted to continue to play, a little concerned that Max may have crashed a little too hard. He had seen her doing a lot during shows, this didn't seem to have been much different. It was the last one before they stopped playing for a while, why wouldn't Max go all out? 

It was worth everything for her to have tumbled through it all. Even Jenny was a little concerned at why Max had come up on the stage with such force. Sour Cream continued to concentrate as much as he could on his drums, but it was hard when Max was practically lying at the feet of Steven Universe. 

They watched as Max scrambled to her feet, each of them trying their hardest to make sure that they were playing along to the music that they were creating. If one of them were to have messed up, it may have thrown them all out of the loop. Of course, it had to be throughout the new song that they found themselves at a point where they were struggling. 

"Steven! It's Connie!" Max practically forced her way to where he was standing, pushing herself in front of him. It wasn't long before she started to get a reaction from the crowd. Nobody liked it when crowd surfers stayed on the stage for too long - even Max knew that.

This was different. 

Steven wasn't going to listen to her, unable to hear her over the music. Not only that, but he was still convinced that she was only there for fun. There was no other reason for Max to have been jumping all over the stage - was there? Even if Max was excited about something, she never would have tried to disturb him when he was playing. She knew better. 

Steven didn't know any different at the time, stepping out of the way of the microphone and gesturing for Max to have a go at singing all of the lyrics. He knew that she knew them. It would have been cool of her to have given it a go! 

Max shook her head, this wasn't what she was trying to get across! 

Max grabbed onto the microphone. This was the only way that she was going to be able to get through to him. It was the last resort. 

"Steven! Connie's water broke! It's like a goddamn slip n slide up in this bitch! We've got to go!" Max screamed into the microphone. The whole crowd stopped. Steven stopped. The music - stopped. 

Those weren't the lyrics. 

"What?" Steven's face dropped, despite his voice not coming out through audibly - everyone could see his expression. There was no way that he was going to have been able to play. He needed to go - now! 

"It's Connie! It's baby time!" Max grabbed onto his shoulders. 

With that, Steven’s eyes widened. 

It was time to go. 


	20. Austen, MD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Star Destroyers welcome a new member of the band...

It was only seconds ago that Max Kayori had told Steven Universe that his fiance’s water had just broken at the back of a dirty old music venue. 

Steven looked to the back of the venue, he was barely able to make Connie out in the darkness - but he knew that she was there. The rest of the band looked at one another, unsure what to do as Steven practically ripped the guitar off over his head and threw it to the floor. Never in his life had he been so abusive to his equipment - but nothing mattered now that he was going to be a dad. 

Steven wanted to do everything he could to get to Connie as quickly as he could. There was no way that he wasn’t going to have jumped as quickly as he could off that stage and made his way through the crowd. If there was ever a time when he needed to jump into gear and make sure that he was there for Connie - now was the time. 

Sour Cream, Buck and Jenny all exchanged glances with one another. They hadn't expected something so sudden to have happened whilst they were playing their show. It was hard for them to have continued without their frontman. What were they going to have done about the show? 

This was worse than that one Snowing show that had gotten cut short due to safety measures within the venue. It seemed as if they wouldn’t have been the only band to have called it a day halfway through their set. 

Max followed after Steven as he jumped off the stage and into the crowd, instantly landing on his feet and pushing as much as he could past all the people in the venue. He was worried about people getting in his way and yet everyone seemed to have done the opposite. There was no problem in them getting everyone to move out of the way. 

When he finally got to the back of the venue he noticed Connie leaning up against the wall, a couple of strangers now trying to do their best to help. It wasn’t as if they would have been able to do anything that helped with their situation, but the comfort that they tried to provide for Connie was enough for her to have been thankful for them.

“Connie! Are you okay?” Steven instantly made his way over to Connie as he gripped onto both of her shoulders. He was hoping that she would have instructed what he needed to have done next that didn’t include freaking out. 

“I need to go to the hospital!” Connie practically gasped. 

“Yes! Hospital! Max!” Steven knew that he would need to call on Max to give him a hand with the situation. There was no way he was going to have been able to do it on his own. 

“Car! I’ll get the car! Keys!” Max panicked on the spot. 

“Guitar case - backstage!” Steven instructed, thankful that he was able to keep calm enough that he was able to audibly tell Max where the keys were. He was worried that it would have been much more of a struggle.

Max didn’t bother to respond. Her first reaction was to run back towards the stage. The venue and the crowd had fallen into a weird ambience of chatter as people tried to figure out what was going on with the frontman of their favourite band. Was the show going to continue? 

As Max pushed through, she was thankful to see Buck on the stage holding the car keys. One of them had run backstage during that time and gotten them for the couple. 

“Go and get baby Star Destroyer!” Buck instructed as he threw Max the keys, surprisingly, a small cheer came from the crowd when she caught them. Max grinned at the gesture, nodding up towards the rest of the band. They knew what was going on and as much as they would have wanted to continue with the show - this was much more important. 

Max spun on her heel and made her way back through the crowd towards Steven and Connie who were both in a position where they didn’t quite know what to do with themselves. The Dondai was parked around the back of the venue and it wouldn’t have been very far to walk, but when your water had just broken - it was very much an uncomfortable experience. 

“You’re going to have to drive!” Steven instructed as they made their way out of the venue past the security that was a little concerned for the people that they had just witnessed walking past. It all looked rather bizarre. 

“Me? The Dondai? Dude, I have no idea if that’s legal or not - but sure.” Max swung the key around her finger as they made their way to the parking lot that was around the back of the venue. 

Steven had wrapped his arm around Connie to make sure that she could make it to the car. He was going to have to call someone. An ambulance? Why would they need one if they were already getting into the car? There were so many questions that he didn’t know the answer to. 

Admittedly, they had no idea what it was that they were doing. There was so much that both Steven and Connie had read about when preparing for this moment and yet everything that they had been taught had slipped from their minds in their moment of panic. They couldn’t quite comprehend it happening like this. 

It was probably going to have taken hours before Connie was even at a point where she was going to be ready to give birth. Even Steven had read that the first child usually took the longest to come out and he didn’t think he was currently mentally prepared enough to take on the challenge of waiting around for a whole day for the baby to be born. It was already late at night. 

"How are you feeling?" Steven asked as he held her tightly, Max running off in the opposite direction to fetch the car. 

It was a stupid question for him to ask. Connie was in no frame of mind to answer it politely. 

"How am I  _ feeling _ ? Everything is wet and I'm going to push a baby out of me within a few hours. I'm  _ not _ fine." Connie shook her head, giving Steven a look as he held her close. There was no way that he was going to have gotten out of that one. 

Steven sucked a gasp of air through his teeth as he anxiously awaited Max to come spinning around the corner in the Dondai. He wanted her to be faster about it, but there was no way of making that happen. He was destined to stand outside with Connie for a couple of minutes before Max came. 

It wasn’t awkward, but it was certainly...awkward. Steven wanted to do everything he could to make sure that Connie was comfortable and that was difficult when they were standing on the sidewalk outside of a music venue late at night. He could hear the music playing inside of the venue and was curious to know what the band had planned to do without him. 

Jenny knew all of the vocals to the songs, he could only wonder if she had jumped in to make some kind of different show out of it. It may not have been Star Destroyers without Steven Universe, but they sure held up well without him there. They were going to save the show regardless. 

“It’s going to be okay, as soon as we get to the hospital we’ll know what’s going on.” Steven didn’t think he would have been able to say much right. He was right. 

“We know what’s going on. We’ve known for months!” Connie snapped, heavily frustrated by the way that Steven was trying to make the situation better and failing miserably. 

Connie knew that she was going to have to apologise to Steven in regards to the way that she was acting around him. She didn’t want to be a jerk - but she most certainly had an excuse. 

“Right. Yeah - baby.” Steven tried to lighten the mood with a small chuckle, but it didn’t seem as if he was going to have received much back other than the sheer look of discomfort. 

As if Steven was saved by fate, the Dondai practically flew around the corner from the parking lot - slamming to a harsh stop with a squeak outside of the venue. Max gestured for them both to pile in. Steven had no choice but to put both him and Connie into the back of the car and allow Max to be their Toober driver. 

“Step on it!” Connie instructed as if the baby was going to come out any minute now. Although she couldn’t be sure when that may have been, it didn’t stop her from worrying about it. 

Anytime from now. That was the problem. 

“Buckle up! We’re riding in the  _ Maxulance _ \-  _ weewoo _ !” Max laughed as she pressed her foot against the gas as the car darted down the street. It was only then when she realised something vital. “Wait! Where’s the hospital? What hospital is it?” Max stared into the rearview mirror, trying to get some kind of answer from them both as soon as possible. 

“I planned everything with the hospital closest to our house! They’re not even planning for us to come for another couple of weeks! I don’t know what to do? Do we call them? What if it’s too far away? I don’t know what to do!” Connie was completely stressed with the idea of not being where she needed to be at the exact time. This wasn’t how she had planned everything out in her mind. It was all  _ wrong _ . 

Steven reached over and made sure to hold onto Connie’s hand - he wanted her to know that he was going to be there for her. She already knew that, but she was going to hold his hand anyway. 

“Things aren’t exactly as we planned, Con. You want me to drive to that hospital forty minutes away?” Max slowed the car down as she spoke to Connie in the rearview mirror. 

“I just...I want to go to a hospital!” Connie didn’t know what she wanted or when she wanted it. All she knew was that she didn’t want to be right there, in the back of the Dondai with a baby on the way. 

Steven thought that he had read everything on the subject, but there was nothing that would have prepared him for the real thing. This was a lot different from what he had imagined. It was also a lot different from how Connie had planned it out in her head. The baby wasn’t supposed to have come so soon! 

Max began to play around with the radio, the car coming to a halt as she did. Connie furrowed her eyebrows from the backseat. 

“What are you doing?” Connie growled, completely out of character in the way that her aggression shone through. Hormones and anxiety flooded through her. 

“We need a good soundtrack.” 

“Max! Drive!” Connie snapped, feeling more and more nervous about what was going to happen soon. She had no idea whether or not it would have been within the next couple of hours or the next morning. Either way, there was a baby on the way and Max needed to step on it. 

“Shit! Now we’re stuck with the classical channel!” Max screwed her nose up at the radio as she put her foot down once again and made her way towards their hospital of choice. 

Steven was the one to read out the navigation on his phone as classical music played in the background. Admittedly, he wasn’t very good at giving the directions and it took only a few wrong turns for Connie’s frustration to set it. It was only then that she snatched the phone from him and was the one to continue with the directions. 

It felt like a lifetime before they managed to get to the hospital. At least, it was going to be at the hospital that Connie had originally planned for. She had already spoken to them about everything and the way that they ran the hospital. Connie wasn’t a fan over the fact her mother had been the one to suggest it, but it was certainly somewhere that she would have been happy to birth her first child. 

Max parked the Dondai somewhere that she knew she would be able to find. At least, she hoped that she would have been able to. 

“Do you want me to get you a wheelchair? It would be  _ wheelie  _ cool!” Max winked as Steven struggled to get Connie out of the car. Everything was uncomfortable. Although, even simple tasks within the past couple of weeks had been hard to do whilst being so heavily pregnant that this was no different. 

Except, it was very much different. 

“I’m okay! I can walk.” Connie shook her head, knowing that she would have been fine to have at least made it into the hospital. The first opportunity that she got to sit down she would have taken. 

She probably should have taken Max up on that offer for the chair. 

Steven was a little worried about getting in Connie’s way. He could tell that she wasn’t in the mindset to go out of her way to bark at him for his different actions. All he wanted to do was be there to support her, but he knew that he couldn’t always do that right now. Connie needed him to be there, but she also needed her space. 

Even though he didn’t want to verbally input on the situation, he still practically held her up and helped her walk with a solid arm around her. There was no way that he was going to let go. The lack of comfort from walking came from the wet pants that she was still wearing. It felt horrible as they dried. 

“Right, let’s go and get you a baby!” Max laughed, covering up how nervous she was with her humour. She felt as if it was the only way that she was going to be able to cope with her best friend going into labour. 

Connie didn’t want to comment on what it was that her best friend was saying. There was so much that she wanted Max to say instead, but that didn’t seem to matter at the moment. Anything that would have gotten Connie’s mind away from the current situation was going to have been good enough. 

Upon arriving at the reception, Connie was quick to give her name and allow them to know anything that they needed to know about her. As soon as that was done they would have been able to continue with a few tests to see if Connie had gone into labour or not, or whether her water had just broken.

Either way, both Steven and Max knew that it was going to have been a long time of just waiting around and seeing what would happen next. Steven noticed that as they waited, Connie’s leg shook violently from nerves. He didn’t know what he could do that would make it any better. There was nothing he could have said or done that would have made the experience less terrifying. 

He just needed to be there with her. 

Eventually, after a few small check-ins with different medical professionals - Connie was taken to a room. A room that she was going to have to wait in until she gave birth, whenever that could have been. It was at that point - the contractions started to hit. 

They managed to get themselves a private room and it was relatively large. That didn’t mean that Max was allowed to come and join them, having to wait out in the waiting room attempting to calm the storm that was the Star Destroyers social media regarding Steven Universe leaving a show earlier than expected. It had stirred up a lot of rumours that Max was working on clearing. 

The room had a nice view, despite them not being able to see in the dark. It was brightly lit and even had a couch. Connie had gotten dressed in the hospital gown that they had provided, more than happy to have gotten out of the wet pants that she was wearing. 

“We could watch some videos on my phone...or put on the TV? What do you want to do?” Steven sat anxiously on the couch as Connie paced around the room. She was in pain and full of confusion about the situation. She wasn’t sure how to feel and she wasn’t sure how to handle what was on the way either. 

“I don’t know, Steven. I don’t know what I want to do.” Connie placed her hand on her head as she walked, barely managing to do so. The last contraction had been pretty intense and had forced her to sit on the edge of the bed. She didn’t want to experience it again, forcing herself up as a way to stop it from happening.

It was going to happen again and again and would only be getting worse. 

Steven noticed the tears in her eyes, immediately springing to his feet and placing his arms on her shoulders. She was so strong for being in that position and he wished upon a thousand things that she would be out of that pain soon enough. Steven’s hands slowly found themselves to the side of her arms as he rubbed gently to comfort her. 

“It’s going to be okay! J-just think about what it’s going to be like when this is over! We’re going to have a  _ baby _ !” Steven spoke with a smile before kissing her forehead softly. He pulled her gently over to the couch and allowed her to sit down beside him. He noticed her wince in discomfort and was a little concerned that he had caused her that pain. 

“I know, it’s just...I can’t concentrate on anything else.” Connie shivered slightly, holding onto her stomach. 

“That’s okay, you don’t need to! I’ll do everything. Don’t worry.” Steven rubbed his hand against her arm to continue to comfort her. 

“Can you get your dad to bring the bag?” 

“Shoot. The bag. I forgot the bag.” Steven sighed, they had packed their bag for the hospital a few weeks ago, knowing that at some point the day was going to come. 

“I’d have been impressed if you brought it with you to the show.” Connie laughed. 

“I’ll call my dad. I forgot to call him about this too. Oh jeez.” Steven ran his hand through his hair, becoming preoccupied with Connie had caused him to forget the plan that he had laid out in his mind. 

“Can you call my parents too? Or...get Max to? I guess I probably should let them know.” Connie chewed her bottom lip. She didn’t want her parents to worry about her, but the last thing she wanted to do was for them to be mad at her for not calling as soon as she went into labour. 

Steven’s heart dropped at the thought. Call Connie’s parents? Yeah, that was something that he would have been able to do.  _ Especially _ at midnight. They would have been asleep or...at work. He wasn’t quite sure. Either way, he never thought the day would come where he was going to have to speak to her parents without Connie present. 

He wanted to though. He wanted to prove to them that he was confident enough to do so. That and Connie needed him to. 

“Are you going to be okay?” Steven furrowed his eyebrows at the thought of leaving the hotel room for just a moment. 

“Well, the baby probably isn’t coming anytime soon. You can take ten minutes to make a few phone calls. They’re not coming without you here!” Connie half-smiled, already feeling tired but knowing that the hours to come would have been much more exhausting. 

Steven didn’t want to leave, but he knew that he had to. They were important phone calls and he had to be quick about it. He didn’t want to miss a thing. Steven smiled back with confirmation, kissing her forehead before he exited the room. 

On his way out of the room, he bumped into Max where she asked about Connie before telling Steven about all of the things that the fans had been spewing on social media. She had been doing a good job with the damage control. Steven appreciated it, but the only thing he cared about was Connie - there was no time for people’s opinions. 

He went down the elevator and stepped outside to make the phone calls. First, he contacted his dad to see if he was willing to go to their house and grab the bag. Greg had been awoken to Steven on the phone talking about Connie. This hadn’t been the first time that it had happened, but this time Steven was talking about how she was  _ in labour _ and that changed everything. 

Greg was concerned about Connie and even how Steven was doing with everything. As if in a flash, he was up and out of bed - driving towards his son’s house to fetch the bag before bringing it over to the hospital. 

There was one phone call that Steven wasn’t looking forward to, but he knew exactly how it would have gone. Well...he hoped it would have gone that way. He took a deep breath before pressing the contact for ‘Doctor Maheswaran’ in his phone so that he would never accidentally click on it if it was under ‘Connie’s Mom’. That was too close to ‘Connie’ in his contacts. 

He raised the phone to his ear as he sat outside of the hospital late at night. He hoped that Priyanka was on shift, or getting home from a shift - that way he was more than likely to have caught her. He hoped that she had his contact saved in his phone, for safety if not anything else. 

“Steven Universe? Why are you calling at this hour? Where is Connie?” Was the immediate words that Steven received from Priyanka Maheswaran. He hadn’t expected anything less, but it was still a little strange for him to have heard straight off the bat. 

“Uh...hi. Connie is fine, she’s just...she’s gone into labour.” Steven began, touching the back of his neck awkwardly as he took the phone call. 

“What?! Why didn’t you call sooner? Is she okay?” 

“Oh! Everything is okay! It’s all good! Smooth sailing labouring...heh...” Steven chuckled nervously, unsure how else he was supposed to communicate with her parents other than try to be as polite as possible. He had given them the key information - wasn’t that it? 

“Well, how dilated is she? How long has she been in labour? How-” Priyanka began to spiral with a million questions that Steven didn’t know how to answer. 

“I-I don’t know! She’s okay though, she’s fine! She just wanted me to call you to tell you that she’s doing good!” Steven panicked as he spoke, how was he supposed to cope with telling them? Surely now that they knew, that was it? He could go back, now - right?

“Doug and I will be on the next available flight over to Nashville. Make sure that she texts me at the very least!” 

“Yes, Dr Maheswaran. I will.” Steven nodded, despite her not being able to see him. 

“This has come unexpectedly early. I’ll have to get Doug home from work. Hmph. I’ll call him now. Thank you, Steven. Please keep her company through this, I’m sorry I can’t be there any sooner.” Priyanka’s words were genuine. She was legitimately sad that she couldn’t be there for Connie and Steven could hear that through the cracks in her voice. 

_ Thank you, Steven _ . 

Steven hadn’t expected to hear the words from Priyanka. They felt good coming from her though.

“I will. Please don’t worry.” Steven smiled, seeing Priyanka truly shine through. 

“I’m a mother, Steven. I always worry.” Priyanka stated firmly. “I’ll see you both soon. Take care.” 

With that, she had hung up. Despite everything that Steven had been through with Connie’s parents, no matter what - every time that he spoke to them it felt as if he was getting closer and closer. Once he was there as a way to withdraw her from her parents and now it felt as if things were getting better. It was worth all of the suffering at the beginning. At least, that’s how Steven viewed it. 

He made his way back up to the room that Connie was currently in, struggling to think about anything other than the pain that she was in. Steven knew that it was going to be his job to keep her mind off it, although, that was a stupid thing to think. There was no way he was going to have been able to manage that successfully. 

He could try. That was all he could do. 

Hours. They had to wait for hours before anything would happen. Going into labour was one thing, but the time it took was another. 

Everything from pacing back and forth inside of the room in the early hours of the morning to getting to a point where she no longer wanted to stand as the sun came up. 

Greg had already been and gone with the bag. He wanted to be there for the baby and both Steven and Connie. Although, he had witnessed childbirth once before and he knew that it wouldn’t have been anytime soon. Unlike Max, who refused to go home. 

Connie was trying to get some kind of sleep, but she couldn’t manage more than a couple of minutes as her contractions grew more frequent. There was no way that she was going to have slept through any of them. As soon as she managed to get to sleep she was woken up by the abrupt pain. 

Steven was there the entire time. Trying his hardest to cuddle up to her in the small hospital bed, but failing miserably. The best he could do was to lean over her and shower her with hugs and kisses. He had been there for the occasional back rub to help her through the pain, but no matter what he did it didn’t seem to help the pain. It did, however, help Connie’s mental wellbeing. 

She wouldn’t have been able to do it without him by her side. 

She did instruct him to leave once, telling him to inform Max to go home. She wasn’t sure how long it was going to take - but she certainly didn’t want Max waiting around for longer than she needed to. Her phone must have run out of charge by now and she was probably more than bored with waiting. 

Steven stepped out into the waiting room, hating the fact that he was asked to leave Connie for a moment. Even so, the midwives wanted to take a look to check on Connie and she was happy for that to happen without him. He would have only been gone for a moment. Connie was okay to have been left in the hands of the kind people around her, if only for a little while. 

"Connie told me to tell you to go home." Steven stood in the waiting room with his hands held together. 

"Go home?! The baby is coming!" Max held her hands to her head. She was tired. Nowhere near as tired as Connie, but she was certainly feeling the effects of being up all night. 

"I know, but not...yet." Steven chewed his bottom lip, he had no idea how long it was going to be. It was only in the last couple of hours that he had learnt the word 'dilated'. 

"Dude, do you want me to bring you pancakes? I know you want pancakes!" Max pointed at the man who she knew wouldn't deny her if there wasn't a reason to. She trusted Steven to relay the information that Connie had said perfectly. 

"Max...it's going to be a while." 

"I know...but…" Max didn't quite know where she was going with her speech. She didn't have that much of a reason to be there other than her best friend was in labour. There was no way that she was going to have been able to rest. "...I want to be here - when it happens. I don't mind not sleeping, you know me... _ party animal _ ." Max laughed nervously as she pointed some finger guns at Steven.

Steven smiled. There was no way that Max was going to have left Connie, he knew her too well for that. She was going to stay in that waiting room until the moment Connie was ready to go home. There was no chance in her leaving. 

"I get it. I'll just...tell her you're watching the Dondai. You need to be around to put more time on the meter. I don't want any tickets…" Steven smiled, giving Max a task that she could do every couple of hours to keep her entertained. They weren't sure when the baby was coming, but paying for the parking was wracking up quite the cost. 

"You got it, chief. I can do that." Max nodded, saluting poorly. 

"I'll let you know if anything changes. Also...when the baby is here." 

"Sure thing, Daddio."

Steven grinned, the nickname was the same to that of one he had given his own father a few times in the past jokingly. It felt weird being used in reference to himself, although soon enough - he too was going to be a dad. 

Leaving Max to her own devices inside the waiting room meant that he could go back to Connie and continue to comfort her through her contractions. He hated it. Seeing her in so much pain tore him apart on the inside. He felt a lot of guilt for being the one to cause the pain, as much as he didn't mean to. 

Accidents happen. Big accidents. 

When Steven went back into the room it was his job to tell Connie that Max wasn’t going to leave, no matter how much he tried to convince her otherwise. Connie was a little pissed at the matter, but couldn’t complain too much as she shed a tear at the pain she was in. She wasn’t going to be able to concentrate on much else. This was it. 

Her midwife had told her that she was coming along to the most important stage of labour. It wouldn’t have been very long now until she was at the point where she would have to start pushing. The point that scared Connie the most. The part she had read too much about that had caused her anxiety to skyrocket. 

Steven wanted to do everything he possibly could to help, but he knew there was nothing he could do other than to keep passing Connie water to sip and brush her hair back away from her forehead. He was going to look after her throughout it all. 

So, Steven would spend the next couple of hours comforting her through the pain as he remained on his knees at her bedside. Just like Connie, he didn’t have time for a chair. He held her tightly and whispered all kinds of things to her to keep her calm, he wasn’t sure how else he was going to be able to help. This was the only way he knew. 

His heart continued to ache at the sight of her groans of pain, making sure to keep close the whole time. She played with the hair on the back of his head with her fingers for some kind of comfort and that somehow helped. At least, she liked to think that it did. 

Then, the time came. It fell upon them sooner than they had thought, despite them having already spent over nine hours in the hospital. Steven hadn’t eaten in  _ hours _ , he hadn’t slept in what was nearly  _ days _ \- except, it didn’t matter how he felt. All he cared about was Connie. 

It was time for the nurses to come in and make assessments once again, to see if it was time for her to start pushing a baby out. Unfortunately for Connie, that time was now and she wasn’t quite sure if she was ready for that - but she had to be. This was it. 

“On your next contraction, we’ll see if we can give them a little push and see how well you do. How does that sound?” The nurse questioned as she helped Connie into a more comfortable position on the bed, readjusting her gloves in the process. 

Connie nodded, unable to process any words through the pain and terror. This was going to have been harder than any test that she had ever taken. College was a piece of cake compared to...this. 

“You’re going to do so well!” Steven encouraged, keeping a tight grip of her hand throughout the whole thing. He wasn't going to let go, she certainly wasn’t going to allow him to do so. 

“I’m so scared, Steven.” Connie’s bottom lip trembled, attempting to fight the tears as she closed her eyes. 

Steven was unable to keep the emotion to himself, sharing her tears as he looked down at her fighting through the pain. She was amazing. 

“You’re so brave, don’t be scared.” Steven smiled, running his hand over the top of her dishevelled hair. She was so beautiful. 

“Don’t be scared, you’re going to do amazing!” The nurse assured Connie as she attempted to regulate her breathing.

Connie nodded once more, taking in a shaky breath and gripping a little tighter onto Steven. He wasn’t going to stop stroking the top of her forehead and she was more than happy to allow him to do it. She needed it.

The nurse instructed her to begin pushing. Connie had never done it before and was curious to know if she was doing it right, either way, the reaction of the nurse was one that she could be proud of. Especially when there was mention that it was working. 

“Hey, would you look at that - we’ve got a baby with some hair!” The nurse laughed as Steven smiled over Connie, hearing the words were incredible in themselves. 

Connie cried with a smile, Steven kissing her softly on the lips. There was nothing that could wipe his stupid smile off his face. The nurse hurried out of the room to see if she could fetch another one of her coworkers to assist her with the delivery. 

It was time for Steven and Connie to meet their baby. 

“You’ve got this, Connie. I’m so proud of you and I love you so much.” Steven whispered, wiping away her tears with his spare hand. His words only caused her to cry more, completely caught up in the emotion of the scene before them. 

“I’m so scared.” Connie attempted to calm herself but struggled greatly. 

“It’s okay, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” Steven pressed his lips into a thin line before smiling at her, so happy to have been there through it all. He truly was so proud of her for everything that she had been through. 

Connie nodded with confirmation. 

Within a few minutes, there were plenty of other people inside the room to help with the delivery. Enough that Connie wanted to feel embarrassed about, but didn’t have the energy to do so. They had seen it all before and that was the last thing that she wanted to think about. 

They were all there to help her. Steven was instructed to sit beside her, mostly so he didn’t get in the way. He was happy enough to have complied - as long as he could still hold her hand nothing else truly mattered. 

The nurses continued to assure her that everything was going to be alright. Connie wasn’t quite sure if Steven looked pale or not, but he was certainly nervous. Although, he had gotten smug when one of the nurses had referred to him as ‘dad’. That certainly felt good. 

“It’s normal to be nervous, darling. We’ve got this, though. You’re in good hands.” One of the many nurses stroked the top of her hand that was tightly held onto the side of the bed to try and get her to calm down. Regardless, Connie was going to have been a nervous wreck. It was nice to hear though. 

“Who isn’t nervous about this? You’re doing so awesome!” Another nurse piped up. 

Connie didn’t want to respond, realising the precarious position that her legs had been put in to help with the birth. It wasn’t something that she ever wanted to experience, but all of her dignity had slipped away in that room and she didn’t care. All she cared about was the fact that the pain meds had kicked in hours ago, but not enough for her not to feel anything at all. 

That was it. The uncomfortable pushing. The harsh breaths. The discomfort in her face and the squeezing of Steven’s poor hand. It was Steven’s job to keep her calm throughout, whatever that could have meant. Either way, he did a good job at continuing to reassure her as much as the nurses who were in the room did too. 

Constant encouragement from the people around her. Yet so much pain. So very much pain. 

Minutes upon minutes of endless hurt and fighting that never seemed to have wanted to end. Steven stayed beside her the entire time, holding onto her shoulder and stroking her hair. 

“You’re so close, Connie. Just a few more pushes, you’re doing so so well!” The nurse was so pleased with Connie’s efforts. It would have been less than a couple of minutes and Connie Maheswaran would have been a mother. Steven Universe would have been a dad. 

“Okay…” Connie breathed deeply.

“You’ve got this.” Steven nodded multiple times as he threaded their fingers together, allowing her to grip as tightly as she needed. 

With a few more little pushes and a bunch of huge pushes, she was nearly there. Enough that the nurses' faces changed with shock as they helped the last few stages, holding a beautiful baby in their hands and presenting it to the couple. 

Connie couldn’t quite comprehend the sight with the amount of effort that she had put into giving birth. They held the baby on her stomach as another nurse cleaned them off with a towel, awaiting the sound of crying. 

Then it hit them both. 

The sound. 

The beautiful sound of a baby’s first breaths in a world so full of strange and wonderful things. 

Steven stood up at the sight, unable to quite comprehend the events that were happening within the room. 

Now wrapped in an abundance of towels, but not too many as not to receive vital skin-to-skin contact the baby found their way into Connie’s arms where she continued to cry at the sight, Steven joining her on the matter as he leant over her to see better. She looked up at him quickly, tears in her eyes as he smiled down at her with nothing by happiness in his expression. 

“It’s a little girl!” One of the nurses clapped with delight as they witnessed the faces of the couple light up with elation. 

“It’s a girl, Connie!” Steven whispered with a shaky breath as if she hadn’t heard the nurse herself. 

“I know, Steven. I know.” Connie chuckled slightly as she held the baby close, trying her hardest to settle the newborn. 

“A little girl!” Steven couldn’t control the tears that dripped down his face, unable to comprehend the love he held for the tiny baby before him. 

“ _ Our  _ little girl.” Connie smiled with both happiness and exhaustion. It had been the longest day of her  _ life _ . 

“Yeah! Our little girl.” Steven practically giggled at the thought, the words felt so strange coming from his lips. 

He had a baby! A little girl! They were so precious, with a scrunched up face, a little tuft of hair and fingernails the size of half a grain of rice. He loved her so much already. 

He was so incredibly proud of Connie for everything that she had been through these past months. It had been so tough on her and finally, it had all paid off with the most beautiful baby that Steven had ever seen in his entire life. It was  _ their _ baby, all covered in gross things he didn’t want to think about. 

There were a few moments of people scurrying around and asking Connie a few questions until finally, they looked over at Steven for answers. 

“Would you like to cut the cord, Steven?” One of the nurses asked in a genuine tone. 

Steven looked over at the woman, curious to know what she was referring to. The umbilical cord. He knew it was something that needed to be done, but it wasn’t as if he had ever had a conversation with Connie on whether or not that was something he could do. 

He looked down at Connie, his mouth slightly ajar at the ask. She nodded at him slowly, still a blubbering mess. That was all the confirmation that he needed. 

The baby continued to cry as Steven cut the physical connection between her and Connie. Although, that had immediately been replaced by the physical connection of a warm hug from her mother. 

It was such a beautiful moment. A moment that he would have cherished for the rest of his life. One that he would have hoped to have told her when she was older and would have been grossed out at the memory. 

The baby laid on Connie’s chest, settling down within minutes, keeping their eyes closed from the outside world. Steven couldn’t stop staring down at the baby, unable to take his eyes off the small human. He gently stroked the edge of his finger across the top of the baby’s head, so gentle and so soft. Still somewhat wet from the birth. 

“Do you want to hold her?” Connie continued to look up at Steven, unsure whether or not he would have wanted to hold the baby. Who was she kidding? Of course he wanted to hold his daughter. He didn’t want anything else. 

Steven nodded, Connie feeling as if she had spent enough time with the baby to form some kind of connection. She needed to get used to her father too, it was only right that Steven got to hold her too. 

“Pull up a chair, dad. We’ll give you a hand.” One of the nurses instructed, continuing to be helpful. Connie was so grateful for them all. 

Steven was a little shocked as he sat down in the chair beside the bed, mentally preparing himself for what was about to come. He watched as Connie gently released her grip as one of the nurses picked up the baby and placed her in Steven’s arms. He was a little taken back by the quick action, noticing how the baby cried as soon as she left Connie. 

Although, as soon as the baby was in her father’s arms - she stopped. Steven began to tear up once again, looking down at the tiny baby in his arms. She was gorgeous. Everything about her was perfect, everything he ever wanted and more. He loved her so much. 

“Hello, baby. I’m your dad!” Steven whispered, a single tear trickling off his nose onto the blankets she was wrapped in. He gently supported her head, so tiny and fragile. 

Connie laughed, closing her eyes as she practically deflated on the pillow, wanting to see Steven with the baby but too exhausted to keep her head up for too long to see. She turned on the pillow, allowing her to see the sight of Steven and their daughter. 

Steven waited patiently as if he expected the baby to say something back. They didn’t. Instead...she opened her eyes. 

Steven stared down at the baby, unable to stop himself from grinning. 

“She opened her eyes, Connie. She can see me! Hello, little one!” Steven spoke in a whisper, still overly excited by the whole thing as he repeated his greeting. The baby stared up at him with an uncertain expression, unable to do much more than press her lips together and screw her eyes back up. 

“She loves her dad already.” Connie smiled and she struggled to keep her eyes open, the whole experience had been physically and mentally exhausting. 

“Yeah...I guess she does.” Steven pressed his lips together to match the baby’s expression, trying to stop himself from tearing up even more. 

The whole memory went by fast as the baby was eventually whisked away by one of the nurses for examination. She needed to have a medical exam and to be cleaned up. It was during this process that the nurses helped Connie get herself cleaned up too, including Steven. The nurses had to hand it to him, he was a huge help the entire time. 

It was only after everything was done that the young couple were finally left alone with their new baby. The little human was now wearing a small hat to keep the cold off their small tufts of hair. Steven sat beside Connie with his hand brushing over the top of Connie’s forehead, giving her the comfort that she needed as she held onto the baby. 

“She’s so beautiful.” Steven spoke softly, practically a whisper as he placed his elbows on the bed and propped his head up with his hand under his chin, making sure to be at eye level with the baby. He sat on the edge of his chair, wanting to be as close as possible. 

“I know…” Connie let out a deep breath as the baby laid in her arms, the back of the bed propped up so that she could sit at an angle. 

“What are we going to name her?” Steven reached over and ran his finger against the top of her hand, she was so tiny against his large digits. 

Connie looked at the baby for a moment, amazed that hours ago the baby was still inside of her. It had been difficult, but she had done it. She was proud of herself for persisting through the difficult pregnancy. All of the times she was sick on tour and the amount of discomfort that followed was worth it. 

It was all worth it for...her. 

“Y’know...I still really like Austen.” Connie smiled over at Steven, judging his reaction to see what he thought of the name that he had suggested months and months ago. 

They had been back and forth a lot on names, but they continuously came back to one. 

Austen.

“I like it too. It’s...different and she doesn’t strike me as a  _ Brooklyn _ .” Steven grinned. 

“ _ Brooklyn _ sounds like someone who would have bullied me in high school. I’m sure she’ll be much better than that.” Connie chuckled before planting a gentle kiss on the baby’s forehead. 

“Me too. How about middle names? Are we still-”

“Maxine. If it wasn’t for Max, none of this would have happened. It’s going to make her the happiest person alive.” Connie smirked at the thought, Max was going to be filled with joy at the name. 

“How can Max be the happiest person alive when  _ I’m _ the happiest person alive?” Steven grinned. 

“Well, you might have to fight for the title.”

Steven laughed at the thought, leaning forward and kissing Connie on the lips. She happily accepted his loving gesture as he continued to hold his finger out to gently brush against the baby’s incredibly soft hand. He stared down at the baby once more, her eyes shut as she batted her tongue against the roof of her mouth lazily. 

“Austen Maxine Maheswaran-DeMayo.” Steven smiled, before lowering his tone to a whisper. “... _ Universe _ .” 

“That sounds...amazing.” Connie nodded. “Austen Maxine Maheswaran-DeMayo...Universe. It just rolls off the tongue, right?”

“It sure does. Welcome to the world, Austen.” Steven spoke directly to Austen as she opened her eyes at the sound of her name. 

Austen Maheswaran-DeMayo laid happily in Connie’s arms, wanting nothing more than to be close to her mother. That and plenty of food and sleep. The two things consistently on Austen’s mind since the moment she was born. 

Steven sat on the couch on the opposite side of the room, holding Austen in his arms as Connie attempted to make herself somewhat presentable in the hospital bed. All that meant was reshuffling her seating position. She was exhausted and was ready to go home and sleep it all off, but there was no way that she was going to have been able to do that just yet. 

Other than the exhaustion and overall pain she was feeling, she wanted to go home. Although, she knew that they weren’t going to let her stroll out of the hospital right after childbirth. 

Connie looked over to the couch and noticed that Steven was speaking to Austen softly. She was awake and looking up at him as if he was the light of her life already. Other than Steven’s voice, the room was filled with a comforting silence. 

“I’m going to teach you how to play the guitar and your mom is going to teach you loads of things about books and writing. You’re going to get to meet everyone soon and I’m sure they’ll be excited to see you. Your grandpa is really cool and he’s going to love you so much! I’m sure that one day you’re going to grow up and change the world, especially if you’re anything like your mom. I can make the soundtrack if you’re up to it.” Steven smiled at the baby before she closed her eyes, he laughed slightly at the gesture. “Am I boring you already?” 

“She’s heard you talking and singing for months, she’s probably used to your voice.” Connie smiled, allowing her head to hit the pillow as she looked over at Steven. 

“Yeah, you’re right…” Steven gently rocked Austen in his arms before planting a tiny kiss on her forehead, just below her tiny hat. 

“You should probably go and get your dad and Max now.” Connie sighed, curious to know when her parents were going to have shown up. As far as she was aware, they were currently on their way. There was no way that they wouldn’t have been going as fast as they could to see their new grandchild. They wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on anything. 

Steven promptly agreed. Max had been waiting outside throughout the entire evening and beyond, she had refused to go home. Although, despite not going home she had managed to get some sleep inside of the waiting room, drifting off now and then whilst she watched the small fuzzy television in the corner of the room playing shows about auction houses. 

Greg had come as soon as Steven had texted him about the baby being born, but was yet to have the opportunity to see his new grandchild. He had decided that he was going to sit in the waiting room with Max and in the meantime, use Max’s assistance to fit the baby’s car seat into the back of the Dondai for when the couple could go home. 

Steven went out into the waiting room to fetch them both. They sat beside one another watching the television and waiting for something interesting to happen as Steven got them. The Maheswaran parents weren’t there just yet. It wasn’t that Steven and Connie couldn’t have had visitors a little sooner, but they wanted to spend some time with their newborn and take a breath beforehand. 

When Max and Greg walked into the room with Connie in the hospital bed, they were both shocked to see the small baby in her arms. It was incredible. Despite expecting it, it felt as if they weren’t expecting it at all. A beautiful baby in her arms! 

“Connie! I was so worried about you all night and you...woah... _ baby _ !” Max spoke in a high whisper as she walked into the room, concerned by Connie’s health the most. Although, she instantly became distracted by the newborn. 

“Holy smokes, Steven. She’s gorgeous!” Greg chuckled as he gripped onto his son’s shoulder and held him close, unable to take his eyes off the baby in front of him. 

“She’s been so good so far…” Connie smiled down at the small baby in her arms. Of course, Austen had been a dream for them both. She hadn’t even cried that much after her first feed, content with being cuddled by her parents. 

“Man, I usually kind of hate babies - but she’s so  _ cute _ !” Max clenched her fists by her sides, one of her hands holding onto a small object. She was excited to have the opportunity to be with her best friend now that the commotion was over. 

Connie wasn’t sure who would have wanted to hold her first, but she knew she owed the first cuddle outside of Austen’s parents to be Greg. Steven knew exactly what she was thinking. 

“Dad, do you want to hold her?” Steven asked with a smile, he could tell his father wanted to tear up. He was nearly as emotional as Steven. 

Greg silently nodded, wanting nothing more than to hold his grandchild. It had been a moment he had been waiting for for a long time and was more than happy to comply with sitting in the chair beside Connie. Suddenly, he felt the baby being placed into his arms, the same feeling that he felt when Steven was born. 

It was magical. 

Greg had suddenly fallen in love with the baby in his arms. She was beautiful. A few of her facial features immediately reminded Greg of Steven when he was little, throwing him back into the memories that he held close. 

“She’s adorable, Steven. Congratulations to you both.” Greg sniffed slightly as he spoke. There was nothing that was going to have taken him away from that moment. He was proud of the young couple for their persistence. 

Now it was time for them to experience what it was like to be parents. 

Greg was going to have been there for them if they ever needed a helping hand. It wasn’t as if he had ever parented alone. Well, not for the first couple of years anyway. Even when he did decide that he wanted to do everything alone, it wasn’t as if he had ever made the right choices. 

He hoped that Steven would have always learned from his past mistakes. That was what was most important to him. That was what he wished for his son. 

“Thanks, Dad…” Steven smiled down at his father, happy that he could have been there with him on the day. He was so thankful for everything that his dad did for him. Steven loved his dad. 

“So...have you decided on a name for the little one?” Greg brushed the top of Austen’s head with his finger, her eyes closing at the touch. She was far too tired for social interaction, only having been born not too long ago. 

“Please say something cool!” Max whispered as she tucked the item under her arm and crossed her fingers and shut her eyes. She was going to have spent enough time with this kid that she was sure she wanted a name that she could turn into a million nicknames. 

“Her name is Austen.” Steven nodded at his dad, proud to have said the name that they had decided on. 

It felt like it suited her already. She was a product of the love that the couple felt for one another. A product of the journey that they had been on together. They were never going to have been able to let that go. Austen stood for everything that they had been through and they loved her to bits already. 

“Isn’t that... _ wait _ ...like...the  _ city _ ?” Max squinted, connecting the dots. She had heard the couple debate baby names before, but she didn’t quite remember them mentioning that one. 

It was unusual, but she certainly didn’t hate it. If anything, it made her love it even more. There was something about it that was incredibly unique. 

“I’d say exactly like the city, but we chose a different spelling. More like...Jane  _ Austen _ .” Steven stated proudly, Connie in the bed beside them all nodding happily. 

“Woah, you two really are celebrity zoomers.” Max snorted, finding the name both bizarre and interesting all at the same time. She was going to have to think of as many nicknames for Austen as she possibly could before she was old enough to figure out what they all meant. Having a couple of years head start was going to be great. 

“Austen Maxine Maheswaran-DeMayo.” Connie corrected, making sure to share her full name. 

“Universe!” Greg added, just the same as Steven had done - causing them all to chuckle. 

“Hold the fucking phone!” Max gasped. 

“No cursing! Austen is here!” Steven pointed towards Austen, not wanting the newborn to pick any bad habits up from Max already. She would have been one hell of an influence. 

“Oh right, my bad. Backtrack. Rewind. Hold the fricky fracking phone -  _ Maxine _ ? Like... _ me _ ? I’m Maxine. Yes. Kind of, sometimes - officially...yes. Legally Maxine. Casually Max.” Max squinted before pointing to her chest. Had the couple named their baby after the loveable Maxine Kayori? 

Connie nodded slowly with a smile, happy that Max had been a part of her life since college. She was so grateful for everything that she had done and there was no way that she was ever going to have used her parent's names as middle names to keep up traditions. Max deserved it. 

“Maxine like... _ you _ .” Connie laughed, repeating her best friend’s words. 

“Really?” Max gasped, unable to quite believe that the couple had taken her name and used it for the middle name of the baby. It was incredibly flattering. Something that Max had only ever joked about in the past, but felt strange knowing it was a reality. 

It was...amazing and Max was completely overjoyed by the fact. 

This was everything. 

“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have met Connie.” Steven shrugged, smirking over at Max. 

“Then...y’know - without us, there wouldn’t have been Austen.” Connie chuckled. 

Max couldn’t believe what the couple was saying. They were essentially thanking her for dragging Connie across the states to go and see an emo band. Sure, they had spoken to her in the past and thanked her for it before. Although, this felt different. This felt more than genuine. A true way of thanking her for everything that she had done for them both. 

It was lovely. 

“Wow...thanks guys. That’s so nice of you.” Max didn’t usually cry - at least not in front of people. Ever. Although, with the emotions running high throughout the room there was no doubt that her eyes had started to water. She held tightly onto the small gift in her hand, still rather excited to give it to the baby. 

It was such a beautiful moment as they all stood around the hospital bed, Greg sat with Austen in the chair beside Connie. There was a moment of silence in the room as Max sniffed. Steven and Connie were happy with their decision. 

Her name was perfect. 

There was nothing more to it. It was everything. They had made the right choice and were proud of it. 

“Hey, Max - do you want to hold Austen?” Greg smiled up at the woman who had quickly become his hardest working employee. Greg knew that he was going to have been hassling the couple for weeks when it came to cuddling Austen. He was happy to have passed her on. 

Not only that, but Greg knew that he was going to have been the one to have babysat Austen in the future. Sure, he could only imagine that both Max and Connie’s parents would have gotten the opportunity - but that didn’t matter. Greg was going to have been the first port of call. Especially when Steven was playing shows. 

He didn’t know when that would have been next, but Greg was going to have dropped everything to make sure that he was the one to look after Austen. He wanted to make sure he was the best grandad, although he did have Doug to contend with. 

“Wait! Wait! I have a gift first!” Max gasped, holding the small brown paper bag in the palms of her hands as she presented it to them both. 

“For Austen?” Connie questioned. 

“Yeah! It was a little last minute, but I was really bored and the hospital had a gift shop! I was going to get a balloon, but balloons are only cool for a couple of days. I wanted something that would be cool forever!” Max stuck her tongue out slightly as she dug into the paper bag and pulled out the small plushie that she had purchased just hours ago. 

“Woah.” Steven audibly gasped, excited to have seen the gift. 

“Presenting to you, your one true guardian - Stephanie Space-Wolf.” Max held the wolf plushie out in front of her, showing it off to the baby in Greg’s arms that had its eyes shut. Max was sure that she would appreciate the gift later in life. “The daughter of the one and only Stephen Space-Wolf. After the disappearance of her father, she dedicated her life to following in his footsteps. Her one goal will forever be to protect Earth and the planets around it, defeating billionaires and spreading the word of midwest emo far and wide! Although, now she has one goal in mind - protect and love Austen Universe at all costs! Forever and ever!” 

Everyone silently listened to Max’s speech, one that would have been remembered by them all for years to come. Of course, it wasn’t exactly something that anyone had expected, but how could they have expected any less from Max? 

“Seems like Stephen Space-Wolf has a pretty cool daughter.” Connie smiled up at Max from the hospital bed. 

“Hell yeah! I thought of a three-book series of novels you could write about it whilst waiting outside! I’ll make a mood board for you.” Max grinned as she held the small plushie with both hands. 

“That sounds like a plan.”

“Would you like to hold Austen now?” Greg asked once more, trying to prompt Max to sit down. 

“Let me just-” Max spun on her heel and placed Stephanie Space-Wolf beside Connie in the bed. Connie happily accepted the gift. 

Max sat down on the couch, knowing that she wouldn’t have been comfortable taking the baby when she was standing up. The last time that she held a baby was when she went to see Carter when her niece was born. 

She was adorable, but somehow she felt a lot more connected to the baby that Steven was about to lay in her arms. 

Max stared down starry-eyed at Austen, still fast asleep despite being passed around from person to person. The baby was so sweet. Max was a little speechless from the connection that she felt. She knew that no matter what she was going to make sure that she did everything she could to protect that kid. 

It didn’t matter where she was - Max was going to have been a kickass aunt. 

“I can’t wait to teach you how to mosh.” Max suddenly whispered, the only thing coming to her mind when it came to the baby. It was going to have been years until she got to that point, but that didn’t matter. All she wanted to do was to have someone to teach the ways of the concert.

Luckily, this was Steven and Connie’s kid. They were bound to grow up around music and there was no way of stopping them from doing so. It was going to have been the best thing that ever happened. It would have made Star Destroyers shows a lot more interesting if they were contending with a kid too. 

“You’ve still got a long time yet.” Connie raised her eyebrows, a little concerned that Max was going to have been teaching non-age-appropriate lessons to their child. 

“Well, we can start in the living room to The Wiggles, y’know? Then we move up to the big leagues.” Max shrugged, holding the baby close with a smile. 

Connie felt so happy to have been in the room filled with people who loved and respected her so much. Everyone there was there to support her and Steven throughout it all. Max and Greg were there for them no matter what and that was important to them both. 

Other than the fact that Connie was still in a lot of pain, she was in high spirits. It was as if the baby being born had only given off positivity and if that was the case then Connie would have happily been in the room for a lot longer. It was a new kind of reality that she would have been happy to have gotten used to. 

Steven was in his element with all of the people he would have considered family. He couldn’t quite wait for the band to meet Austen. He knew that they all would have loved her beyond belief. There was no way that they wouldn’t have started by trying to get her to join the band. 

Connie was content with the amount of love that was in the room. So much so that she never wanted it to have ended. Even if they spent the rest of the day in complete silence with nothing more than the occasional mumble from Austen...it would have been perfect. As long as she was with the people in her life that meant the most to her. 

Much to her other visitor’s discretion. 

Max and Greg wanted to stick around for a lot longer to be with the baby, but they were both exhausted - especially Max. She had been there all night and deserved to go home and rest. She had finally seen the baby and decided that they were the most precious baby on the entire planet. It was now time for her to go home - so she did. 

It wasn’t very long after both Max and Greg left the hospital that they had some different visitors. This time, the visitors were ones that had come a very long way to have been there. People that both Steven and Connie were both surprised had shown up later than expected. 

Dr and Mr Maheswaran. 

When they both entered the room, Connie was holding Austen in her arms once more as Steven sat beside her continuing to lean over and speak to them both - mostly about how much he loved them. Connie wanted to rest, but she knew that she wasn’t going to have been able to until her parents had been. 

They knew that they were on their way, so it was just the case of waiting around for them to come. Yet, there they were. A couple of hours after the baby was born. Suddenly disappointed that they couldn’t have been there at that moment.

“Oh, Connie - we’re here! How is everything? Are you okay?” Dr Maheswaran practically leapt over to the side of the hospital bed before placing her hand on the side of Connie’s face, completely ignoring Austen. She wanted to know how her daughter was doing first. 

“Hey, Mom. I’m okay.” Connie half-smiled up at her mother, a lot of emotions inside of her about her parents and the past couple of years. Things had been rough, but at that moment she wanted her mom to be there with her. This was a huge moment for Connie and she wanted nothing more than to be with her family. 

“Hey, kiddo - we got here as quickly as we could.” Doug smiled at the edge of the hospital bed at his daughter. This was a moment that they hadn’t expected to have happened so soon. Although, now it was happening there was nothing that they could do.

Connie had gone against a lot of things that her parents didn’t agree with in recent years, but this was most certainly one of the things that they hadn’t expected to touch upon for years to come. However, when both Priyanka and Doug laid their eyes on the beautiful baby it felt as if both of their minds had switched. 

“Sorry, you missed all of the fun bits.” Connie couldn’t help herself but laugh at the idea that her parents wanted to have been there sooner. She was sure there was nothing to say that they didn’t, but it felt weird to her that they were so invested in something that she was doing. This time that meant having a baby - it felt a lot different from things in the past. 

Doug waved over at Steven, causing Steven’s eyes to light up as he sat on the chair beside the bed. Steven waved back in response, happy to have been noticed. 

“We’re just happy to be here and meet...who is this?” Priyanka found it hard not to smile at the small baby in her daughter’s arms. 

Connie readjusted Austen slightly in her arms, ready to hand over the baby when they so desired. Other than the occasional cry, Austen had mostly been sleeping and eating for the past couple of hours. 

“This is Austen, would you like to hold her?” Connie tilted her head as she gestured for her mother to take Austen from her arms. 

Priyanka stayed silent for a moment as she took Austen out of Connie’s arms and held her standing up. The baby was so small and fragile. Priyanka hadn’t felt that way since she had held Connie when she was a baby all those years ago. It suddenly brought back a lot of memories. 

“Austen? Isn’t that a-” Priyanka began to speak as she held the baby. 

“Yes, Mom.” Connie confirmed, already knowing exactly what she was going to say. 

“That’s rather untraditional, I think you should-”

“Mom, her name is Austen.” Connie secretly found great satisfaction knowing that she had made a decision that her mother had no input on. Even if she did, she was unsure how much she would have listened to. Connie was her own person and didn’t need her mother’s opinions. 

If she wanted to name her daughter Austen, then she most certainly was. That had nothing to do with her parents. She was a parent herself now and she needed to look out for her daughter. 

Priyanka held back a long sigh with defeat. Her daughter wasn’t going to give in to whatever she had to say. Ever since she had met the rockstar, her streak for rebellion only continued. There was no way that she could have won against it. She had tried multiple times in the past and failed. 

“Very well. Regardless of names,  _ Austen _ is very beautiful. Congratulations to you both.” Priyanka nodded at the young couple before focusing all of her attention onto the baby in her arms. 

Steven glanced over at Connie, surprised that she was able to fight back her mother on the subject and win. There was no way that Connie was going to have changed her name when it felt so set in stone already. Austen had been born and that was all that was truly important. She was a healthy baby and her parents were already so proud of her. 

Doug stepped a little closer behind Priyanka, getting a good look at his grandchild. This had certainly been a moment that he had been looking forward to for a lot of his life as a dad. It would have been great to have been promoted to grandad. 

“Thank you, Dr Maheswaran.” Steven nodded over towards her parents, noticing that he had naturally reached up to the bed and had loosely threaded his fingers through Connie’s. 

Even if her parents wanted to continue to deny Connie with the love that she showed Steven, there was no way that they would have ever been able to win against him. He had won over their daughter’s heart and there was no way of ever coming back from that. At least over the last couple of months when they had come to visit, they had been somewhat nice to Steven in his presence. It had been a start through the past year. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was more than Steven could have ever asked for. 

“Have you made sure that-” Priyanka began, there was no way that Connie would have been able to get away with parenting her child without her parents butting in. It was only inevitable. 

Although, she was going to do everything that she possibly could to avoid their parenting techniques. Sure, not all of them were bad - but she didn’t always agree with the way that she was raised. 

“Mom!”

“How about-”

“Mom!” Connie repeated with a smile on her face, she knew there was no way of getting her mother to stop with the vast suggestions. 

“I really think that you should at least consider-”

“Mom, it’s fine! Really. We’re fine.” Connie assured, trying to make sure that her mom didn’t continue any further. The last thing she wanted was to have spent the rest of the day hearing about all of the things she should or shouldn’t have done throughout her pregnancy. 

Steven happily nodded beside Connie, attempting to back her up without being verbal about it. The last thing he wanted was to have been on Priyanka’s bad side. 

“Okay, well...you know I’m here if you need me. You seem pretty reluctant to receive any help on this.” Priyanka held Austen closely, continuing to look down at her whilst speaking. 

“We’ve got this. I promise.” Connie gestured over to Steven as she held onto his hand. It was weird having some kind of sincerity from her mother. It felt strange. 

“They’ll figure out the ins and outs of parenthood before you know it. Sometimes...you just have to figure things out on your own.” Doug threw his hands into his pockets, still wanting to spend most of his time looking at the newborn. 

Connie was thankful for her father’s words. They couldn’t have rung more true. She knew that there were some things that she and Steven would have failed miserably on as parents - but that didn’t matter. Not right now. The best part of being a parent was learning from those mistakes. 

Things would have only continued to have gotten better. That was the best part of being a parent. Nothing was certain. 

“Thanks, Dad. I’m sure we can always give you a call if we have any burning questions.” Connie nodded, thankful for her parents coming to visit them. There was a point a couple of years ago where she imagined that this never would have happened. They didn’t even want to call her, let alone come and see her after she had a baby with the man they disapproved of. 

It was clear that they still weren’t happy with Steven being in her life, but there was no other way to say it - he wasn’t going anywhere and they needed to accept that. 

Not only had they had a baby together, but he had also gotten down on one knee and proposed to her. They were engaged and they were soon to be married. 

Steven was going to have been a part of Connie’s life regardless of what anyone else dared to say. Even if it did mean that her parents would have constantly judged him based on his actions. 

“You have your own little family now, Connie. That means you’re going to have to make sacrifices for the good of this child.” Priyanka stated boldly, taking Connie back slightly. The last thing that she wanted was for her mother to have come in and started to judge her for her choices. 

That wasn’t why she wanted her there. 

“What do you mean?” Connie furrowed her eyebrows, she knew that she wouldn’t have been able to have a good time with her parents without them being judgemental. It was supposed to have been a joyous occasion with Austen being born. Why was it so bad that they felt the need to comment about it? 

“No more of those long tours. You won’t have time for it with a child. She’s going to need you there and we certainly don’t have the free time to babysit whenever.” Priyanka shook her head. As much as she would have been willing to babysit in the future, it wasn’t as if she was willing to do it for a few weeks whilst they went off on young adventures across the states. 

“We’ve got it figured out, Mom.” Connie replied bluntly. They had already figured everything out. Why did she feel the need to butt in? 

“And I hope you’ve considered finding extra space for your musical practice, Steven. Loud noises can damage developing ears. It would be irresponsible of you not to hire somewhere for you to practice rather than doing it inside of the house when she will be able to hear that racket.” Priyanka shook her head. It was as if she couldn’t help but have been judgemental of the couple. 

Although, as much as she tried not to be - the one thing on her mind was making sure that Connie was okay. It was making sure that Connie raised the child the best that she could. Admittedly, she wouldn’t have wanted her granddaughter to have stepped out of line like her daughter. 

Rebellion was frowned upon and Connie had done just that. 

“I will...take it into consideration.” Steven chewed on his bottom lip, a little unsure how else he was going to have responded to such a request. Little did Priyanka know that he had practically spent every other night singing music to Connie’s bump when she was pregnant. 

“Mom, I’ve told you - we’ve got it. I appreciate the help, but me and Steven have it completely under control. Sure, it’s new...but we’re going to learn.” Connie assured, Priyanka’s face dropping. 

Priyanka had somewhat concluded within her mind that perhaps the advice that she was giving the couple wasn’t quite for the best. At least, she was sure that it was probably being completely wasted on them as they stared up at her as they listened to her talk at them. 

She had been harsh on them plenty of times in the past, but it was about time that she once again stepped back. It wasn’t as if she had been overly happy with the idea of the emo boy knocking up her daughter. She certainly hadn’t been pleased, but she had gotten to a point where she felt as if there was no other option. There was no way that she was going to have won. 

At the end of the day, she could see that Connie was...happy. 

She had grown into a young woman that her parents could have potentially have said that they were...proud of. 

They were proud of her. For everything that she had done. 

“Sorry, Connie - I just...I’m looking out for you and...Austen and... _ Steven _ .” Priyanka gritted her teeth together as she spoke the name of the man who had taken her daughter away. Away to a life where it looked as if she had been fighting for happiness for a long time. 

Connie was finally somewhere that she wanted to have been and Priyanka should have been happy for that. There was nothing that she would have been able to do to change it and deep down...she didn’t want to. As long as her daughter felt happy then there was nothing more that she would have wanted. 

She just wished that she would have been able to express that more verbally. Something that she had been striving towards for the past year. A connection that she knew she couldn’t lose with her daughter. 

“I know, it’s okay. I appreciate it. Really.” Connie assured. She wasn’t quite sold on her own words, but she knew that they would have served to have pleased her mother. They were exactly what she wanted to hear. 

“Anyway, Doug...would you like to hold your granddaughter?” Priyanka turned to her husband after smiling sweetly at her daughter. 

Doug looked down at the baby, he couldn’t help but continue to have been reminded of when Connie was born. It had been so many years ago now, but the memory was still fresh in his mind. One of the proudest days of his life. He knew that there was no going back after that moment and being a dad would have been wonderful. 

It was. It was wonderful. 

“Sure, I’d love to see the little kiddo! She’s adorable, Connie!” Doug smirked over at his daughter before holding out his arms to take the newborn from his wife. 

That was it. He held the newborn in his arms gently, silence filling the room as everyone took in the moment. 

Connie glanced over to Steven and smiled. They had a baby. Austen. And Doug was right - she  _ was _ adorable! 

The Maheswaran parents didn’t stick around for too long, which was surprising by both Steven and Connie’s standards. They had agreed to stay in their usual location when they came to visit, just so that they could be close to Connie. They wouldn’t have been able to stick around for very long, but they wanted to have been able to visit Connie again the next day she was in the hospital. 

Connie found herself sleeping inside the room for a little longer than she wanted to admit, Steven spending the night in and out of sleep on the hospital couch. He wanted to go home and shower - anything to get out of the clothes that he had worn whilst playing the show the previous night, but that wasn’t going to have happened. 

Connie had to stay in the hospital overnight so that they could make sure everything was as it should have been before she and Austen were able to go home. Steven had gotten used to feeding Austen on the couch whenever she started to cry, indicating that she was hungry. 

There were a couple of visits from people throughout the day, including another visit from Connie’s parents, Max and Greg. Even the rest of the band had sent Connie flowers, which Max had taken back home for the couple so that they didn’t have to worry too much about taking them back themselves. 

They had a long day. A couple of days to be exact and Steven and Connie couldn’t wait to go home. 

The couple was exhausted and all they wanted to do was to go home and fall asleep. Nothing at home was exactly how they wanted it to have been for the baby, considering she had decided she wanted to come sooner rather than later. They would have spent the next day sorting everything out, but for now, they were ready for bed. 

Steven held the carrier in one hand as he held Connie with the other, gently guiding her down the driveway. It was getting pretty late, at least...late enough for it to have started getting dark. It didn’t matter what time it was - they were more than ready to sleep for the entire day ahead of them. 

There was a silence between them as Steven turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open, allowing Connie to step inside first as he flicked the switch to turn on the light by the door. 

“Welcome home, Austen.” Steven welcomed Austen into the home as he held the carrier. 

She was fast asleep. Peace. 

The house was exactly how they had left it before they had gone to the show. It felt like an eternity ago since they had been standing inside of their house together with just the two of them. Yet, they had a small baby to accompany them on their many futures now and in the future. 

Connie immediately went to the kitchen and began to prepare some of the baby formula that they had brought in advance. It had only been within the past week or so that they had started to get some of the last bits for the baby, thankfully, they had got all of their shopping done in time. 

Steven carried Austen in the car seat and placed her in front of the couch. He stood there for a moment and smiled down at the newborn baby, fast asleep and hopefully happy to be home. He was so happy that he could cry. 

“She sure does sleep a lot…” Steven placed his hands on his hips and smiled down at Austen before looking up and noticing that Connie was doing just about everything on her own. That certainly hadn’t been his intention. The last thing he wanted was for Connie to do...anything. 

“Well, she is a baby.” Connie laughed, not quite noticing that Steven was on his way over to the kitchen to give her a hand. 

Just as she was about to twist another bottle, she felt his warm hands on hers, taking over the task at hand. 

“You should go to bed, I’ve got this.” Steven spoke in a low tone, practically instructing Connie that he was more than ready to take on his role of being a father. He had already been getting used to feeds at the hospital, he was going to be an expert in no time. 

“N-no…it’s fine.”

“Connie...really… _ I’ve got this. _ You need to rest.” Steven repeated his words, not wanting her to be on her feet for too long. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how tiring giving birth had been, the least he could do would be to sort out everything before bed. 

Connie sighed in defeat, placing the bottle on the counter and feeling his warm hands over hers. There was no way that she was going to have been able to win against Steven when she was too tired to do near enough anything. She turned around to face Steven, keeping him incredibly close. 

“What about Austen?”

“What about her?”

“She needs to come to bed too. I’ll have to move her crib into our room…” Connie pondered on the thought, already stressed at the idea of having to lug something pretty heavy into another room. 

“I told you, I’ve got this.” Steven smirked, already thinking of a plan in his head. Anything he could do to help Connie would have been beneficial. Connie looked away for a moment before meeting his eyes once more. 

“You have to make sure that you sterilize the bottles and you have to double-check the temperature, no - triple check. It can’t be too hot or too cold. You need-” Connie began speaking in a stressful manner. 

“We’ve been over it a whole bunch of times. I didn’t forget any of it. I’ll see if she wants to eat and get her changed into one of the many adorable outfits that we got.  _ You _ need to rest.” Steven assured as he placed his hands on either side of her arms and rubbed gently for comfort. 

“Okay, but I’m not going to sleep until you’re in bed too.” Connie nodded, refusing to give in completely. As much as he was going to try, there was no way that she was going to let him do everything. 

This went both ways. 

“Alright...deal.” Steven nodded before kissing Connie on the lips. He was so proud of her. 

With that, Connie made her way to bed feeling overly comfortable in her own sheets. It felt like she had just gotten home from a tour. She listened to Steven moving around in the living room down the corridor, until she watched him drag the cot from the spare bedroom to right beside his side of the bed. 

Austen was still fast asleep in the carrier, wrapped up in blankets with Stephanie Space-Wolf tucked beside her as she patiently waited for her dad to put her to bed. Steven made sure to do everything that he needed to do, waking her up in the process. 

That included changing her diaper, her clothes and offering her something to eat. He was starting to get used to the bottle-feeding process, but this time she didn’t seem to want to eat anything. At least...not in that moment. 

Austen fussed for a while about not wanting to eat, eventually settling as Steven paced around the living room with her held to his chest, humming tunes to different songs that he had sung to her whilst she was in the womb. She seemed to have been responsive to the tunes, finally shutting her eyes and falling asleep in his arms. 

Steven eventually made his way into their bedroom, laying her down slowly in the cot beside the bed. Connie watched, closing the book that she had been reading to both keep her awake and distracted. If she had thought about things too much then she would have gotten out of bed to help Steven when he had specifically asked her not to. Although, it seemed as if he had done a great job. 

“Did she take the bottle?” Connie questioned. 

“No...I don’t think she’s hungry.” 

“Are you sure? It was the right temperature, yeah?”

“Yes, I made sure it was perfect.” Steven nodded confidently as he began taking his jeans off so that he was ready for bed. The only light illuminating the room was the lamp on Connie’s bedside table. 

“You’re  _ sure _ ?” Connie raised her eyebrows, checking on her baby from the opposite side of the bed. 

“I’m sure. She’s had a tough day, she’s just tired.” Steven yawned as he spoke. “I...don’t blame her. Me too.” He was more than ready to get some sleep. 

“Y’know...she’s probably going to wake up hungry in a couple of hours.” Connie pushed her lips into a thin line, speaking quietly as not to wake up the baby. 

“It’s fine, it’s a  _ couple of hours _ . She’s been good.” Steven nodded as he crawled into bed, realising that he had practically blocked off easy access to his side of the bed with the cot. 

There it was, the end of yet another day. Another day where both Steven and Connie felt something that they had never felt before - the sheer joy that came from the start of parenthood. There was something so satisfying about it. Something so...sweet. 

Steven made himself comfortable in the bed as he laid down beside Connie. In the dimly lit room, he couldn’t help but study her facial features, continuing to be blown away by the woman who he had a baby with, the same person who had agreed to marry him. She looked fantastic, despite not having slept more than a few hours the past two days. 

“We have a little girl, Connie. We’re parents now.” Steven grinned as he shuffled closer to her, happy to have been in her presence. 

“She’s beautiful.” 

“Just like her mom.” Steven smirked, unable to stop himself from commenting. Connie blushed at the words. 

“She’s got your curls already.” Connie smiled as she ran her fingers over the top of Steven’s hair. 

“You really think so?” His face lit up. 

“Yeah, she does.” Connie continued to play with his hair for a few moments before sighing. It wasn’t a sigh for anything in particular, mostly just from how tired she was. 

Connie moved a little closer so that she could kiss Steven on the lips, only slightly more than what would have been considered a peck. 

“Goodnight, Connie. I love you.” Steven practically whispered on her lips. 

“Goodnight, Steven. I love you too.” Connie quickly kissed him once more with a smile before turning over and switching off the lamp. 

A moment of silence.

They both closed their eyes and within seconds...a loud cry. 

Steven’s eyes opened wide as Connie turned back around to switch on the light. He took a deep breath and sat up, the sound of Austen’s cries rattling his mind immediately. Connie wanted to be smug about the situation,  _ of course _ , there was no way that Austen would want to miss a feed. There hadn’t been a single time since she was born that she wasn’t dead on schedule for the next. 

“What was it you said about her not wanting her bottle?” Connie couldn’t help herself but snort, exhausted enough to find humour in the situation. She watched Steven shuffle out of bed and pick up the newborn who continued to cry, even after going into the arms of their father. 

Steven blinked slowly before giving Connie a look, shaking his head with a small smile creeping up his lips. Connie was right. He took a deep breath before changing his pitch, drawing all of his remaining energy into speaking to his daughter. 

“Hey,  _ Austen _ ! Daddy’s going to get you another bottle now because Daddy was too impatient and wanted to go to bed before you were ready. I’m sorry!” Steven rocked Austen gently as he spoke, unable to get her to stop crying. No words were going to stop her from craving the milk she desired and she certainly wasn’t going to stop crying until she got what she wanted. 

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Connie cocked an eyebrow. 

“N-no, Connie - try and get some rest. I’ll...feed this hungry little monster and then maybe we can all get some sleep. Does that sound good, Austen?” Steven questioned the crying baby, speaking a little louder over the upset. He pouted his lip slightly at her distaste for her hunger. “Uh, I don’t think she agrees - but I’m sure she will with a full tummy!” Steven grinned, the dark circles under his eyes becoming more prominent. 

“If you can’t settle her, call me.” Connie nodded, there was no way that she was sleeping with Austen crying. Other than the sheer noise she was making, it broke her heart to hear it. 

“Right. Yes. I’m...going to go and feed her now.” Steven chewed the inside of his mouth, realising that no matter how many times he rocked her that she wasn’t going to settle until there was a warm bottle of milk at her lips. 

“Okay. I’ll...leave you to it.” Connie smiled, barely getting her words out before Steven had exited the bedroom and was heading toward the kitchen. He was going to be the best dad he could be. 

Connie Maheswaran and Steven Universe, a couple who had fallen in love whilst touring the United States had always done everything together. From music tours to a book tour. So, when Connie became pregnant with Austen - being parents wasn’t something they ever thought they could do...but they were sure as hell going to try... 

* * *

_ That was it. The end of Star Destroyers. The end of a 7-month journey of me writing over 500k of content for this story. It’s been insane and I have to say, there were some moments that I didn’t enjoy and others I was having the time of my life. Mostly the latter.  _

_ Due to the current world situation, I haven’t been able to attend concerts like I used to. I used Star Destroyers as a way to get my fix for concerts without actually going. It’s been so amazing to write about my experiences and emotions through these characters and have so many people who joined me on the way. It’s been fantastic.  _

_ I want to give a little thank you to everyone who helped me on this huge project.  _

_ I’ll start with a big one, because he needs to be recognised first. Honestly. You may have seen his fics, I’d be upset if you read through Star Destroyers without reading the one-shot connectors! Without them, the story wouldn’t be complete: _

_ To TranscendentalSpaceGem,  _

_ Thank you so much for writing for the series and encouraging me throughout the entire process. You’ve always been the best soundboard (not a City of Angels ref) and I’m so glad that I could share my love with this story with you the whole time. Thanks for listening to me talk about SD for hours and talking right back at me with copious amounts of ideas. You really inspired me throughout this and I’ll forever be grateful. Thank you so much, bro. <3 _

_ To the artists,  _

_ You guys are so wonderful. You know when as a kid you pick up a book and immediately see if it’s got any pictures inside of it? Sometimes stories don’t feel complete without those pictures and you guys filled in the blanks. I saved every piece of art, every wonderful shitpost, even the people who made fics inspired by the series! You were the motivation I needed to continue. I love you, guys.  _

_ To the Unfamiliar Familiar Bookclub,  _

_ My wonderful Discord server. Just short of 80 members at the time of completion. Everyone on that server is an absolute blessing and I love you all to bits. Thank you to all of the people who have joined VC readings over the past 7 months and given life to these characters. Your live reactions make me so happy and the way that you talk about these characters I’ve built is so amazing. This server could also pretty much be named the ‘Max Kayori’ fanclub and I’m okay with that. Anyway, thank you to everyone on the server for being awesome.  _

_ To the readers,  _

_ There’s so many of you! So many! Thank you for sticking with the story for this long. I see you, whether you’re a silent reader who hasn't commented or someone who comments every chapter. I see you and I appreciate you so much. Without your support, this story would be nothing. Thank you for giving it a chance and sticking though. My biggest worry when starting this story was actually having Max in the first chapter because people fucking hate OCs! (Me too!) Although, I am so pleased that you all warmed up to her and loved her as much as I did along with everything else in the story. To get this far in a series and still have people that have been here since the very beginning is an honour in itself. You fucking rock.  _

_ There’s been a bunch of fantastic artwork that people have drawn for Star Destroyers and I wanted to share a load of it with you all now! I made this huge collage (which doesn’t feature everything - I’m sorry!) which features a bunch of art for the story. This has given me so much joy over the course of the series.  _

_ In no particular order, these are the beautiful artists featured on this collage: NamesTakenBud, SwordMahes, E350, Teapods, GhostRemnant, connquartz, blissfali and milk_carton_doodle. _

_ Thank you all for joining me on this midwest emo adventure of a lifetime. I hoped you loved reading it as much as I loved writing it. I hope you stick around to see whatever project I might begin next. You rock.  _

_ \- Kay (DepressedCarrot)  _

_ Instagram - depressedcarrotx _

_ Tumblr - ConnverseTheUniverse _

_ SU fanfiction Discord server - https://discord.gg/s72WCgFyMK _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember you can find me on Tumblr - @ConnverseTheUniverse
> 
> And Instagram - @depressedcarrotx


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